Tea Party Leader Disgraces Movement

For a whole week there has been debate concerning whether or not the tea party was racist. The whole controversy started with the NAACP condemning the movement as being bigoted. I along with several other bloggers and leaders of the movement defended the movement against these charges. And while the tea party as a whole is not racist, I will call a spade when I see a spade.

I am actually very disappointed in Mark Williams, one of the prominent leaders of the tea party express. Williams wrote a "letter" from "Precious Ben Jealous, Tom's Nephew, NAACP head colored person." The letter continues:

“We Coloreds have taken a vote and decided that we don’t cotton to that whole emancipation thing. Freedom means having to work for real, think for ourselves, and take consequences along with the rewards. That is just far too much to ask of us Colored people and we demand that it stop!

I had great respect for the tea party express, and admired their zeal for getting the word out concerning the tea party movement. I remember those nights leading up to tea party rallies in DC, when the tea party express would stop in cities and hold mini rallies. That was great. So when I see stuff like this my heart stops for a beat.

What were you thinking Mark Williams? What good could possible come from writing a letter like that, except to prove that there are indeed racist elements within the tea party? Unfortunately I think that expelling your organization from the national tea party federation was the correct thing to do.