NORMAN — Editor, The Transcript:
In its July 18 letter, the Norman Tea Party Steering Committee stated that “racism of any type is not, and will not, be tolerated within our group.” This is heartening to hear. One only wishes other Tea Parties around the country would take the same stand because, despite the letter’s protestations to the contrary, the NAACP was on solid ground in condemning racism within the Tea Party movement.
The Norman Tea Party’s letter set up a straw man, claiming that the NAACP is crying racism merely because the Tea Party disagrees with a president who happens to be black. “They are unable to produce any evidence whatsoever to support their claim.” In fact, the NAACP cited instances in which Tea Party activists spat on one black congressman and called another the “N-word.” There are photos from Tea Party rallies of protesters carrying signs depicting President Obama as an African witch doctor. Another sign bore the slogan “Obama’s Plan White Slavery.” In our state, the Tea Party-endorsed gubernatorial candidate, state Sen. Randy Brogdon, asked rhetorically of the federal health care mandate Obama signed into law, “Are we going to have to purchase fried chicken tomorrow for dinner?” In doing so, he invoked an old stereotype and earned the denunciation of the legislative Black Caucus.
One could write these off as the actions of a few bad apples. But it appears that racial resentments can be found among a wide swath of the Tea Party’s membership. A University of Washington survey in May found that 46 percent of Tea Party supporters believe “if blacks would only try harder, they would be just as well off as whites.” This subscribes to the stereotype of African-Americans as lazy and denies the reality of disparities in educational and economic opportunity.
The same survey found 74 percent of Tea Party supporters believe it’s “not really the government’s job to guarantee” equal opportunity for blacks and minorities. The sentiment echoes statements from Tea Party candidate Rand Paul disagreeing with Title II of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits private businesses from discriminating on the basis of race. Similarly, former Republican Congressman and presidential candidate Tom Tancredo, speaking to the Tea Party convention in February, said Obama was elected because “we do not have a civics, literacy test before people can vote in this country.” Such “tests,” used in the segregation-era South to keep Blacks from voting, were outlawed by the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
The Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were enacted by Congress to enforce the Fourteenth Amendment (guaranteeing equal protection under the law) and the Fifteenth Amendment (guaranteeing the right to vote regardless of race). These amendments explicitly gave Congress the power to do so. I am glad to hear that the Norman Tea Party endorsed these amendments. But it appears that, despite all their professed reverence for the Constitution, the vast majority of their Tea Party compatriots do not. It raises the question: If it’s not the government’s job to guarantee equal opportunity regardless of race, whose job is it?
PATRICK MEIRICK
Norman
