By L. N. Rock

The anger and hostility between the NAACP and the so-called Tea Party movement started back in 2010, at its annual convention in St. Louis; the NAACP passed a resolution denouncing the “racist element” within the tea party movement.

The 2010 resolution said the Tea Party members have used “racial epithets,” have verbally abused black members of Congress and threatened them, and protestors have engaged in “explicitly racist behavior” and “displayed signs and posters intended to degrade people of color generally and President Barack Obama specifically.” At the time, Ben Jealous head of the NAACP, specifically pointed to signs at rallies portraying President Obama as a witch doctor, and to claims made by Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., that Tea Party protestors opposing health care reform hurled racial slurs at them.

Then in October of 2010, The NAACP, organized (a poorly organized and poorly attended protest) march in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 2nd, billed as the next step in building momentum against the Tea Party. Since the failure of the march, the NAACP has been largely quiet about the Tea Party, and has been trying to rebuild its name as a relevant player in 2011.

Black American Tea Party loyalists held their first rally outside the 102nd NAACP National Convention in Downtown Los Angeles to challenge the racism allegations against the so-called Tea Party movement. The Black Tea Party members denounced the NAACP as “morally bankrupt.” Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, organizer of the South Central L.A. Tea Party, and no stranger to name calling had some choice words for the NAACP:

“The NAACP is a partisan tool of the Obama Administration. For decades, this group has supported left-wing polices which have created dependency, destroyed black families, and hurt race relations.”

Rev. Peterson also made the following allegations.

NAACP spreading lies about the Tea Party. NAACP has made numerous false allegations of “racism” against Tea Party groups, but has yet to provide a shred of evidence backing up their baseless claims.

The NAACP is a partisan tool of the Obama administration. The group blindly supports Barack Obama’s out-of-control federal spending and bailouts.

The NAACP has remained silent on black on black violence. And they refuse to address recent news of black thugs attacking whites and flash mob crimes across the country—but NAACP President Benjamin Jealous says he’s “deeply concerned” with the lack of black news anchors on Television.

The NAACP has aligned itself with the United Federation of Teachers to block 22 of the worst performing schools in New York City from being shut down. More at hinterlandgazette.com

Black conservatives are really taking big media heat for their involvement in the mostly white tea party movement—and for having the audacity to oppose the policies of the nation’s oldest civil rights organization. As an example, as reported by The Root, Charles Butler, a black, Chicago-based conservative talk show host, has been in shouting matches and called a traitor to his race because of his affiliation with the largely white Tea Party movement.

I’m not sure how the Black Tea Party organization can be successful at engaging the NAACP in a conversation when they are having issues working within their own organization. It will be interesting to see how the so-called Black Tea Party confronts the NAACP in the future. It should make for interesting entertainment, seeing that both groups are more interested in showboating and grandstanding.

L. N. Rock is a management consultant, Democratic strategist, and 2008 credentialed blogger at the Democratic National Convention. He blogs at African American Pundit

By Alexis Garrett Stodghill

An African-American contingent of the Tea Party plans on protesting the NAACP this weekend during its 102nd convention. The historic civil rights group will host events at the Los Angeles Convention Center from July 23-28 that will focus on issues like youth empowerment, and attract up to 12,000 daily participants. But members of BOND Action, a right-wing black organization, view this positive happening with dark suspicion. Rejecting as false the NAACP’s stated mission to operate as a multi-ethnic coalition fighting all discrimination, BOND sees it as exploitative to blacks. The Rev. Jesse L. Peterson, BOND’s leader, believes the NAACP encourages blacks to become dependent on social programs while using African-American’s resources to promote its own agenda. The Grio explains Peterson’s point of view in a new report:

On July 24th members of the South Central Los Angeles Tea Party and hundreds of others will rally against the NAACP in an event sponsored by Peterson’s organization BOND Action.

The “rally to expose the failed big government agenda and lies of the NAACP” will be held directly outside of the Los Angeles Convention Center, where the NAACP is holding it’s 102nd annual convention. [...]

Peterson cites several reasons for the rally and came up with the idea after learning of the convention’s location on his turf. Peterson says the NAACP lies by saying America is a racist society and holds black American’s down. [...]

“That’s’ the problem I have with the NAACP,” said Peterson in an exclusive interview with theGrio. “[They're] a political pawn of the liberal-elite, white, racist Democratic Party and not really for the people.”

He hopes black Americans (he views the term “African-American” as a “dumb” title and unpatriotic), stop supporting the NAACP financially and with their manpower. For decades, Peterson argues, the organization has supported left-wing policies, which have created dependency on government and destroyed black families and hurt race relations. Peterson also said the NAACP is not needed and until black people stop hating “the white man”, they won’t be free.

It is unclear what lies the NAACP is telling or how they are a pawn of the Democratic party, as Peterson attests. In response to Peterson’s accusations, the director of the NAACP’s Washington bureau, Hilary O. Shelton, told The Grio that his group is dedicated to non-partisan, colorblind approaches to creating equality. Shelton countered that:

“Reverend Peterson is clearly blaming the victim”, said Shelton. “The NAACP has challenged Americans at every level, whether it’s that local abusive chair, a racist segregationist school board, or whether it’s a state legislature and governor standing in the door house saying ‘segregation before, segregation now, and segregation forever’.”

Peterson responded to these assertions with his belief that that “the NAACP does not want black Americans to be free.”

The reverend is simply convinced that by reminding people of the past and conditioning blacks to believe this is a racist country, the NAACP turns African-Americans into drones who are unable to take responsibility for themselves. Then white people become the victims of our blame and hatred for circumstances that are caused by our moral failures. Seriously.

It’s hard to believe that it is not Rev. Peterson himself who has an alternate agenda, rather than the NAACP. The statements he makes to The Grio point to a disassociation from reality. At 62, he must have witnessed the pernicious effects of racism. As a reverend, he must hear of racism in his community from his flock as he attends to his followers. Accusing the NAACP of oppressing blacks and denying the existence of racism reeks of insanity — unless you look at the bigger picture.

What is the number one thing a black person gets when making such absurd statements as a conservative on a national platform? Attention. And Rev. Peterson is already on his way. Who had heard of him before today? Exactly.

Look at Herman Cain. He only has to open his mouth, say something revolting, and he will be featured on every political blog in the nation. Rep. Allen West is being hotly debated for saying horrible things about a female Democratic leader — after having faded in with the furniture of the House after his election. While this is not positive attention, it’s better than nothing. West has been thrust into the national spotlight again, and for a politician, this means everything. I would not call his move calculated, but it’s easy to see the pattern emerging.

Now we have Rev. Peterson. Super-conservative. Check. Black man. Check. Saying absurdly ridiculous things that offend the left and make white Republicans feel good. BINGO!

This is apparently the recipe for creating a black male Republican political star.

I expect the Rev. to announce his run for the presidency any day now.  What will America do with two sound bite freaky, ultra-right, African-American, GOP contenders? A Cain vs. Peterson debate? Now that’s something I want to see. The subtitle can be: “Who will be this season’s Republican token coon?”

Michael Steele need not reapply.

Needless to say it was an interesting year, as usual. Nobody would’ve guessed that an NBA player’s decision to change teams would captivate the nation’s attention and generate so much passion. And nobody would’ve guessed how much power right-wing insane conservative commentators had until the case of a Georgia woman was hastily handled by the the White House. In case you missed it, here is a list of news and events that we’re still talking about at the end of 2010:

Haiti Earthquake

It was a horrible start to 2010 for Haiti. Who could forget how the capital city of Port-au-Prince was shaken and rattled by a 7.0 earthquake in January. The disaster left hundreds of thousands of islanders homeless and injured; it also killed thousands.  Almost a year later, the former French colony is still struggling to restore livable conditions.

(Politico) – Some African-American tea party candidates are displeased by a resolution that the NAACP approved on Tuesday calling the grass-roots conservative movement “racist.” “I have not experienced the charges of racism that the NAACP is touting,” Vernon Parker, an African-American tea party congressional candidate in Arizona, told POLITICO. Parker, former mayor of Paradise Valley, said that he has never felt out of place at a tea party rally because of the color of his skin.

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