NAACP Stands Up Against Hate and Division

At its National Convention the NAACP called on the Tea Party Movement to discipline racist elements within it. After some protestations that there were no racist elements within the Tea Party, there appeared a scurrilious letter from Mark Williams, Chair of the Tea Party Express, attacking the NAACP. The Tea Party to its credit quickly suspended the membership of Mark Williams and his group.

Soon after another racially charge attack come from Fox News who broadcast a heavily edited version of an old speech by a Dept of Agriculture employee Shirley Sherrod made twenty years ago to a NAACP meeting. The video implied that Ms Sherrod did not provide the assistance to a white farmer needed to save his farm for racial reasons, which was not the case.

Startled by these unwelcome accusations both the Obama administration and the NAACP disadvowed the apparent actions of Ms Sherrod, only to have to apologize after the dust settled and the hoax became clear. Even so this deliberate attempt to smear both the Obama administration and the NAACP illustrates the depth that political discussion has fallen in these difficult economic times.

To conter this the NAACP has called for a ONE NATION march on Washington, Oct 2, 2010. Stay tuned for further details.