Tennessee GOP Staffer Sends Racist Image of President Obama
Republican politicians from the state of Tennessee uphold a party tradition of bigotry with hateful, racist smears against the President of the United States.
A recent e-mail circulated among colleagues in the GOP party featured portraits of all 44 U.S. Presidents. Past presidents were presented in a dignified, authoritative pose. Not ‘Obama.’ What should’ve been a picture of President Obama, however, was simply a black square with white eyes. Sherri Goforth, a legislative aide to Republican State Senator Diane Black, sent the e-mail, which was featured on a couple of blog sites and alternative news weekly Web site. Goforth admitted sending the e-mail stating flatly, “I went on the wrong email and I inadvertently hit the wrong button.”
Black, who “followed policy” and “strongly reprimanded” Goforth, defended the decision not to fire her, citing her impeccable record up to now and stating to local newspaper The Tennessean that Goforth has always been a friend to “people with black skin.”
This is but the latest in a recent trend coming from Republicans in the Volunteer State. Former Tennessee Republican Party chairman Chip Saltsman distributed copies of the offensive and controversial parody song “Barack, The Magic Negro” to Republican National Committee members on a Christmas CD in December 2008. There was also the Republican “Birds of a Feather” direct-mail message that featured black crows with the heads of President Obama and Tennessee Rep. Nathan Vaughn, who’s also African American.
When interviewed by CNN, Black deflected the issue of firing Goforth. “I want to be sure that everyone understands that the communication was sent without my knowledge and it absolutely does not represent the beliefs or opinions of my office,” she said.
“The last thing we need in the state of Tennessee is to send out the impression and the image that we are still stuck in some backwater mentality and culture that feels it’s OK to depict the president of the United States in that fashion,” state Rep. John Deberry Jr. (D) told CNN.
Whether or not Black knew the communication was sent and if it represents the beliefs of her office are highly debatable at this point. The question that must be asked is, if it does not represent the beliefs and opinions of Black’s office—why wasn’t Goforth fired? Why does she stand by an aide who, not only sent the racist e-mail, but didn’t seem to regret sending it–only sending it ‘to the wrong people?’ –todd williams
