Mark Williams says his spoof has opened up talks with NAACP
A mock open letter to President Abraham Lincoln written by Tea
Party spokesman Mark Williams and attributed to NAACP President
Benjamin Jealous said black people don't really want
emancipation.
That would cause them to have to work for a living and think for
themselves, according to the widely distributed letter propagated
by the Tea Party activist, who added it as an update to his blog.
Though Mr. Williams has acknowledged his literary adventure
caused outrage and much resentment, it actually represents a
successful exercise in opening up a dialogue. Now his office and
the office of NAACP President Benjamin Jealous are cooperating in
finding ways to talk about their differences, he told millions of
television news viewers today.
Observers from both sides of the political spectrum labeled the
NAACP board's proposed resolution branding the Tea Party as a
political institution that tolerates racism as a "get out the
vote" move to recapture the first-time black vote that swarmed
the polls and precinct caucuses in 2008, propelling President
Barack Obama to victory.
Among the controversial comments Mr. Williams has made recently
about race relations between white and black voters was his
reaction to the resolution proposed by NAACP leadership who
protested the behavior of some Tea Party activists who allegedly
shouted racial slurs and spat upon black Congressmen at a Capitol
rally.
The resolution calls for the Tea Party to purge its ranks of
people who display what they term as racism in their remarks. Mr.
Williams has referred to Mr. Jealous as "Tom's nephew."
"You're dealing with people who are professional race-baiters,
who make a very good living off this kind of thing. They make
more money off of race than any slave trader ever. It's time
groups like the NAACP went to the trash heap of history where
they belong with all the other vile racist groups that emerged in
our history," he said.
In more recent remarks, Mr. Williams claimed success because
people are so concerned with being politically correct in their
speech, "They're afraid to say anything."
A mock open letter to President Abraham Lincoln written by Tea
Party spokesman Mark Williams and attributed to NAACP President
Benjamin Jealous said black people don't really want
emancipation.
That would cause them to have to work for a living and think for
themselves, according to the widely distributed letter propagated
by the Tea Party activist, who added it as an update to his blog.
Though Mr. Williams has acknowledged his literary adventure
caused outrage and much resentment, it actually represents a
successful exercise in opening up a dialogue. Now his office and
the office of NAACP President Benjamin Jealous are cooperating in
finding ways to talk about their differences, he told millions of
television news viewers today.
Observers from both sides of the political spectrum labeled the
NAACP board's proposed resolution branding the Tea Party as a
political institution that tolerates racism as a "get out the
vote" move to recapture the first-time black vote that swarmed
the polls and precinct caucuses in 2008, propelling President
Barack Obama to victory.
Among the controversial comments Mr. Williams has made recently
about race relations between white and black voters was his
reaction to the resolution proposed by NAACP leadership who
protested the behavior of some Tea Party activists who allegedly
shouted racial slurs and spat upon black Congressmen at a Capitol
rally.
The resolution calls for the Tea Party to purge its ranks of
people who display what they term as racism in their remarks. Mr.
Williams has referred to Mr. Jealous as "Tom's nephew."
"You're dealing with people who are professional race-baiters,
who make a very good living off this kind of thing. They make
more money off of race than any slave trader ever. It's time
groups like the NAACP went to the trash heap of history where
they belong with all the other vile racist groups that emerged in
our history," he said.
In more recent remarks, Mr. Williams claimed success because
people are so concerned with being politically correct in their
speech, "They're afraid to say anything."
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