The Conservative Hispanic Society is criticizing the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) over remarks made by one of its leaders recently. Rev. William Barber, director of the NAACP in North Carolina, mocked Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), calling the only black U.S. senator currently in office a “ventriloquist dummy” because he supports conservative policies. On a conference call, he also called Scott and other minority Republicans “mouthpieces,” exposing the NAACP to fair accusations that it is a partisan Democrat organization. Barber’s remarks strongly imply that the NAACP regards all minorities who happen to be Republicans as traitors or dupes.
If a white leader said what Barber said, they would be accused of racism.
In a statement today, Conservative Hispanic Society executive director Chris Salcedo strongly takes issue with Rev. Barber’s partisanship.
“This form of ideological bigotry is unacceptable,” Salcedo says in a written statement. “The very idea that one’s ideology is formed by the color of one’s skin is dumb, offensive and is counter to the message of a REAL civil rights leader named Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr. King said, ‘I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.'”
Salcedo adds, “I remind Mr. Barber that people of color are capable of making up their own minds as to which ideology fits their own circumstance and upbringing. We have the knowledge, intelligence and for the time being, the freedom, to choose our own path.”
“CHS rejects the NAACP’s efforts to replace racial bigotry with the chains of ideological bigotry,” Salcedo says.
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