Members of the Tea Party movement have been compared to the Klansmen and segregationists who attempted to block blacks from entering all-white establishments during the 1950s.
The day before President Barack Obama’s historical health care bill was passed, members of the Tea Party heckled U.S. Reps. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Emanuel Cleaver II, D-Mo., by calling them the N-word. It’s highly unlikely that a black American would want to be a part of a rowdy organization that supports separatism and openly disrespects black political leaders.
However, there are a small number of blacks who have decided to join the Tea Party because of the group’s desire for less taxes and smaller government. One of the most popular black Tea Party members is Angela McGlowan. A former commentator for Fox News, McGlowan is a congressional candidate who believes in the party’s messages of fiscal responsibility. And she’s not alone. According to a USA Today/Gallup poll, 6 percent of the Tea Party members can be classified as non-Hispanic blacks.
But because of the Tea Party’s racially charged tactics during its rallies and overt disrespect for the nation’s first black president, are blacks who join the party traitors of their own race? –a.r.
