Louisville Courier Journal Editorial: Tea Party And Race.
Tea party and race
From its inception, the tea party movement has had to deal with the reality that its adherents are overwhelmingly white. All you need to do is go to one of their rallies and the evidence is clear.
We saw for ourselves at a large rally on April 15 in Louisville's Founders Square, where one African-American minister who spoke seemed to be the only person of color at the event.
But it's a leap to say that because this is the case, the tea party is a racist movement. Certainly, there are many who are sympathetic who aren't.
Yet the evidence is growing that this "party" has become a haven for those who do have racially intolerant, even white supremacist, views. Consequently, the NAACP was fully justified in passing this week a resolution urging the movement to stop tolerating folks like the ones seen at a parade in Lexington, Ky., on Independence Day selling T-shirts bearing the slogan "Yup, I'm a racist," along with the "don't tread on me" snake that is a popular tea party symbol.
"It's time for the tea party to be responsible members of this democracy and make sure they don't tolerate bigots or bigotry among their members," said Ben Jealous, the NAACP's president.
"Taxed enough already" is the movement's slogan (hence the acronym "tea"), but other themes beside taxation and health care reform have fired up the rhetoric. Common is the call to "take our country back," though many will ask to whom "our" country belongs, and who has taken it.
You don't have to engage in much guessing to know that it's President Obama and the Democrats in Congress they are talking about, and it is fine if the tea partiers disagree with their policies. But it's not all right to offer a haven to those who believe that the first African-American president is somehow not an American and not a loyal one. And it's scurrilous to harbor those who are fearful because they believe their future -- in a country that will soon no longer have a white majority -- is somehow in jeopardy.
Throughout its 101-year history, the NAACP's role has been to educate, not to agitate. Others have done that. Its leaders, which always have included whites as well as blacks, succeeded by standing apart and doing the research needed to teach Americans the evil of discrimination.
One of the problems with the tea party movement is that it is loosely organized, with no visible national leader. Certainly, some have emerged as sympathetic voices -- notably former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Kentucky GOP Senate candidate Rand Paul. It is incumbent on them to call out those who would latch onto their movement to advance white supremacist views and distance themselves from these extremists.
From its inception, the tea party movement has had to deal with the reality that its adherents are overwhelmingly white. All you need to do is go to one of their rallies and the evidence is clear.
We saw for ourselves at a large rally on April 15 in Louisville's Founders Square, where one African-American minister who spoke seemed to be the only person of color at the event.
But it's a leap to say that because this is the case, the tea party is a racist movement. Certainly, there are many who are sympathetic who aren't.
Yet the evidence is growing that this "party" has become a haven for those who do have racially intolerant, even white supremacist, views. Consequently, the NAACP was fully justified in passing this week a resolution urging the movement to stop tolerating folks like the ones seen at a parade in Lexington, Ky., on Independence Day selling T-shirts bearing the slogan "Yup, I'm a racist," along with the "don't tread on me" snake that is a popular tea party symbol.
"It's time for the tea party to be responsible members of this democracy and make sure they don't tolerate bigots or bigotry among their members," said Ben Jealous, the NAACP's president.
"Taxed enough already" is the movement's slogan (hence the acronym "tea"), but other themes beside taxation and health care reform have fired up the rhetoric. Common is the call to "take our country back," though many will ask to whom "our" country belongs, and who has taken it.
You don't have to engage in much guessing to know that it's President Obama and the Democrats in Congress they are talking about, and it is fine if the tea partiers disagree with their policies. But it's not all right to offer a haven to those who believe that the first African-American president is somehow not an American and not a loyal one. And it's scurrilous to harbor those who are fearful because they believe their future -- in a country that will soon no longer have a white majority -- is somehow in jeopardy.
Throughout its 101-year history, the NAACP's role has been to educate, not to agitate. Others have done that. Its leaders, which always have included whites as well as blacks, succeeded by standing apart and doing the research needed to teach Americans the evil of discrimination.
One of the problems with the tea party movement is that it is loosely organized, with no visible national leader. Certainly, some have emerged as sympathetic voices -- notably former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Kentucky GOP Senate candidate Rand Paul. It is incumbent on them to call out those who would latch onto their movement to advance white supremacist views and distance themselves from these extremists.
Labels: News reporting
posted by KYJurisDoctor at 11:07 AM
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