Published August 04, 2010 / FoxNews.com
Black political activists who also call themselves members of the Tea Party movement on Wednesday rebuked charges of racism running rampant in the group
At a news conference in Washington, the black members asserted that the Tea Party is not at all racist and that the accusations come from outsiders trying to discredit and sabotage the movement.
"The injection of race has come from those who want to destroy us," said Selena Owens, an regular speaker with the Tea Party Express, one of the many libertarian, anti-tax groups in the movement that organized the news conference.
Herman Cain, a radio talk show host, said the accusations are "hurled at us to divide us and to deflect attention away from the failed policies of this congress and this president."
Kevin Jackson, author of "The Big Black Lie" added, "There are two kinds of people I have never seen at a Tea Party: a racist and anyone who owns a yacht. And if they do own a yacht, they pay their taxes."
The Tea Party Express organized the news conference to refute accusations of racism that have been heightened by the recent split with former group leader Mark Williams. Recently, Williams posted a letter on his blog written from "Colored People" to Abraham Lincoln, which suggested that black people would choose slavery over having to do real work.
"Our slowness to split with Mark should by no means condone racism. It was just out of loyalty to our friend," said William Owens, a black conservative author who has also been a featured speaker on past Tea Party Express tours.
The letter Williams wrote on his blog immediately led to a war of words between him and the NAACP, or National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which specifically called Williams a racist and suggested there are many more inside the Tea Party movement.
The black activists at Wednesday's event were at some times dismissive of the NAACP, and at other times outright hostile toward the organization.
"I don't think the NAACP are even relevant anymore," said Tim Johnson, vice chairman of the North Carolina GOP. "I think they just did that to get some news coverage."
Niger Innis, a spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality was more direct.
"I have nothing but respect for the tradition of the NAACP, but I have nothing but contempt for the current leadership and tactics of the current leadership," he said. "There's still a need for the [group], but not if they continue to let themselves be prostituted by some elements of the Democratic party."
When asked about an incident where Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a black Democrat from Missouri, was allegedly spit on during a Tea Party rally on Capitol Hill last march, Robert Broadus, who is running for a U.S. congressional seat in Maryland, said, "It never happened."
Link to articleInnis added:"There's no evidence, and we are a country of laws."
National Black Conservative Press Conference
Date: Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Time: 8-11am
Place: National Press Club, Washington DC
INVITED SPEAKERS INCLUDE: Ambassador Alan Keyes-Chairman of Conservative Majority PAC, Star Parker, President, Center for Urban Renewal and Education, Lloyd Marcus-Tea Party Express/ NAACPC, author of Confessions of a Black Conservative, Kevin Jackson, author of Amazon best-selling book, The BIG Black Lie, President of the Black Conservative Coalition and The Black Sphere, LLC, Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President of BOND Action, Ted Hayes-NABS (National America’s Black Shield), William & Selena Owens-Higher Standard Publishers, Mychal S. Massie Chairman Project 21-The Nation Leadership Network of Black Conservatives, Frantz Kebreau-National Director, NAACPC (National Asso. For the Advancement of Conservative People of ALL Colors), Timothy F. Johnson, Ph.D.-The Frederick Douglass Foundation, Lloyd Marcus-Tea Party Express/ NAACPC, Michael Steele, RNC Chairman, Ron Miller, president of Regular Folks United and author of “SELLOUT: Musings from Uncle Tom’s Porch”, C. Mason Weaver, President Mason Media Company Author of “It’s Ok to Leave the Plantation/Motivational Speaker, Emery W. McClendon Dr.,Amateur Radio Military Appreciation Day, Ruth Bryant White, Editor In Chief of BreakingNewsJournal.Net, Leader on Conservative Moms For America and author of “Life Through The Eyes Of An Interracial Couple”, John Felix,President/CEO/founder of the Caribbean-American Cultural Association, Inc. of North America, Bob Parks, Member, National Advisory Council, Project 21; Video Producer, Media Research Center, Bishop Harry Jackson, Pastor of Hope Christian Church and Chairman of the High Impact Leadership Coalition,
Link to Lloyd Marcus
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