Is the Tea Party racist? Mychal Massie, speaking today at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., says “no.”
Eschewing a formal debate, Massie used his podium instead to respond to Tea Party critics Al Sharpton, D.C. congressional delegate Walter Fauntroy, and Marc Morial of the National Urban League. None of the respondents showed up, though Massie assured the small press gathering that he had reached out to all three.
“[The Tea Party] is a mish-mash blend of Americans of all different walks of life,” Massie said.
Massie is the director of Project 21, a division of the National Center for Public Policy Research that bills itself as the “national leadership network of black conservatives.”
Massie and Project 21 are calling on self-appointed black leaders like Sharpton to answer for their claims and insinuations that the Tea Party is racist in nature and that folks like Glenn Beck are “hijacking” the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. Massie says he has tried to hold this panel since late last year, and after several months of stonewalling by the invited guests, he decided to move forward with the discussion.
“I wish that they were here,” Massie said. “This is not about theatrics or drama.”
