Paige's message
"I have a message for the NAACP's Julian Bond and Kweisi Mfume, who have accused black conservatives of being the 'puppets' of white people, unable to think for ourselves: You do not own, and you are not the arbiters of, African-American authenticity," Education Secretary Rod Paige said yesterday in an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal.
"I am a lifelong member of the NAACP. I have great respect for the organization. Its historical leaders, all visionary thinkers, have been responsible for helping to advance the struggle of African Americans over the past century, making our nation a more equitable and race-blind society. Sadly, the current NAACP leadership has managed to take a proud, effective organization in a totally new direction: naked partisan politics, pure and simple," Mr. Paige said.
"In particular, Mr. Bond and Mr. Mfume have done a great disservice to our organization, and to the founders of the civil rights movement, with their hateful and untruthful rhetoric about Republicans and President Bush. How ironic that they would direct this vitriol at a president who has appointed more African Americans to high-profile posts, has committed more funds to fight AIDS in Africa, has championed minority homeownership, and has supported more trade and aid for African and Caribbean nations than any other administration." |
