Is Brewing Tea Dangerous?

Is Brewing Tea Dangerous?
The Tea Party movement has become a victim of its own
success....millions of minorities share Tea Party concerns but are put
off by the movement's disparaging mainstream media image.

by Harry Jackson Jr.
April 12, 2010

Ten days ago, Colbert King of the Washington Post wrote an incendiary
op-ed about the Tea Party movement. Entitled "In the faces of Tea
Party shouters, images of hate and history," the piece was incredibly
skewed. The article's condescending tone called the protesters
"racists."
Mr. King equated the people that rallied in DC (just before the
healthcare vote) with the folks who wanted to block the first black
student from entering the University of Alabama in 1956. Further, he
suggested that those who blocked 9 black kids from entering a Little
Rock, Arkansas High School in 1959 resembled Tea Party members. Most
shockingly, he compared the faces he witnessed years nearly 20 years
ago at a David Duke rally in Metairie, LA with the party faithful. He
went on to describe the folks at the Duke rally as " sullen with
resentment, wallowing in victim-hood, then exploding with yells of
excitement as the ex-Klansman and Republican gubernatorial candidate
spewed vitriolic white-power rhetoric."

King ended his op-ed by blaming Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, Sean
Hannity for the out-of-control behavior of Tea Party members. In fact
he declared that the cultural conditioning of entitlement is what is
passed on to these people by these thought leaders. Listeners are
encouraged, according to King, to do "whatever they want, and to
whomever they want" because they are the "real Americans."

The question I would like to pose to the Tea Party is this, "Now that
you know how you are perceived, what are you going to do"?

Time and time again during the last two years, the critics of the
Obama administration have been tagged "racist." This labeling has
always been initiated by liberal media or high-level Democratic Party
elite. The first victims of this kind of labeling were the critics of
Jeremiah Wright. Despite his consistent anti-American rhetoric, the
nation was told that they just did not understand the black church. On
the wings of these accusations concerning Rev. Wright, candidate Obama
gave an historic speech about race and the need for a national
dialogue.

The next victim of malicious accusations of racism was Hillary
Clinton. Most of us remember the "fairy tale" comments made by Bill
Clinton. Ironically, just 16 years earlier Clinton had been hailed as
"the first black president." The accusation of racism is so damaging
to a person that it became the final blow that felled the giant
Clinton political machine. Further, in early October of 2008 Senator
John McCain's reference to candidate Obama as "that one" made him the
recipient of the "racist" label as well.

More recently, the president's comments about Professor Skip Gates and
the Cambridge police officer once again stirred the specter of racism
and class warfare in America. As an African American, I am concerned
that when the claim of racism is levied, it serves to divide us as
fellow Americans, instead of allowing civil democratic debate. Not
only is it deceptive, it also may affect the nation like the mythical
boy who cried "wolf." In situations in which racism is really at work,
the charge will be taken less seriously in the future because of the
frivolous and manipulative use of the charge of racism.

Just two weeks ago, Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver was harassed by a Tea
Party participant at a rally in Washington, DC. There is also video
footage recording the exchange of this unruly, angry rally
participant. Conservative analysts have wasted time asking whether the
man spit on Rev. Cleaver or whether it was an unintentional spray.

Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II has a long history of public service.
First, he has served Kansas City as the pastor of St. James United
Methodist Church with a membership of 2800 since 1974. After three
terms as city council member he was elected the first African-American
mayor of his city. He also served two terms as President of the
National Conference of Black Mayors. Finally, he has been in Congress
since 2004 and supported Hillary Clinton versus Barack Obama until the
end of the presidential primary. In light of his history and
credibility, I believe Rev. Clever was actually called the "N" word.
Despite the machinations of a handful of fringe participants, I am
sure that racism is not the source of the movement's energy.

In response to Tea Party critics, conservative media pundits have
spent countless hours defending the movement and its motives. I
believe that the Tea Party deserves the benefit of the doubt.
Nonetheless, it must dispel the idea that it's a new manifestation of
older racist movements.

Ironically, the Tea Party movement has become a victim of its own
success. Its popularity represents a threat to "business as usual"
inside the Beltway. It is time for real, collaborative leadership to
emerge and give direction to the Tea Party. As someone who believes
that the Tea Party movement is a return to foundational American
values, I suggest a PR makeover. The worst thing that could happen to
this movement is that its important message gets marginalized because
of poor messaging and management.

Specifically, I recommend that the movement do three things
immediately. First, they should apologize for the disrespect many of
its members showed Emmanuel Cleaver and other members of Congress two
weeks ago. Second, the movement should have rally leaders go through
media training and establish a message for each and every event.
Third, as the movement grows, it should feature more black and
Hispanic speakers. This is not window dressing because millions of
minorities share Tea Party concerns but are put off by the movement's
disparaging mainstream media image.

The good news is that if the Tea Party resists the temptation to
become an official third party and formalizes its operations, its
maximum short-term impact can be realized.
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