December 18, 2002
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Republican Leader Must Step Down Lott Mindset is
Hateful bigotry has no place in the halls o f Congress
No Surprise to
Mississippians
T he N A A C P has c a lle d for S en ato r T rent
L ott to resig n from the m ajo rity le ad er-elect
post c itin g re c e n t b ig o te d rem ark s he m ade
d u rin g the c o n g re ssio n a l c e le b ra tio n for
S e n a to r S trom T h u rm o n d ’s 100th birth d ay .
T he ju n io r sen ato r from M ississip p i said:
“ W hen S trom T hurm ond ran for p resid en t
w e voted for him . W e ’re p ro u d o f it. A nd if
the rest o f the c o u n try had o f fo llo w ed our
lead we w o u ld n ’t o f had all th ese p ro b lem s
o v er all th e se y ears, e ith e r.” T h u rm o n d , the
o u tg o in g sen ato r from South C a ro lin a , ran
for p re sid e n t in 1948 on a stau n ch se g re g a
tio n ist p latfo rm .
Kweisi M fume, N A A CP President & CEO,
said: “ Senator L ott’s statem ent is the kind o f
callous, calculated, hateful bigotry that has no
place in the halls o f the C ongress. His rem arks
a re d a n g e ro u sly d iv is iv e an d c e rta in ly
unbefitting a man who js to hold such a highly
esteem ed leadership role as the m ajority leader
o f the senate.” Lott is scheduled to becom e the
senate m ajority leader next m onth when the
108th C ongress convenes.
M fume added, “Sen. Lott should resign
from the position o f m ajority leader-elect to
m ake way for another m em ber o f the Republi
can Party whose moral com pass is pointed
The recent statement by U.S. Sen. Trent Lott regard
ing his support and M ississippi’s support o f Sen.
Thurmond’s candidacy for President ofthe United States
in 1948 is shameful, disrespectful, insensitive and racist!
S en . Trent Lott, R-Miss.
The mindset that produces such a statement from a
tow ard im proving race relations and not dredg
ing up this natio n ’s poor, polarizing perfor
m ance o f the past.”
Mississippi Senator comes as no real surprise to the
Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus or most black
people in the state o f Mississippi. W e live with and
experience such attitudes at all levels on a daily basis.
Don'T T ake T he B lack
W hile such attitudes o f racial bias and indifference
exist throughout our country, it is very disappointing to
note most are prevalent in the South and seemingly '
V ote F dr E moted
“housed” in “the Republican Party.”
We hope this embarrassing exposure to “truth” re
Political pundits were quick to attribute the
Republican sweep on low voter turnout among
Blacks, however, as actual numbers are slowly
compiled, it appears that African American voter
turnout did not “plummet.”
Political parties must stop taking the Black vote
for granted and pay closer attention to issues that
affect the Black community, said a panel o f Afri
can American leaders during a post election brief
ing hosted recently by the National Coalition on
Black Civic Participation.
The panel suggested that candidates stop
blaming their losses on low voter turnout and
focus on creating clear messages and agendas
garding Sen. Lott and others with similar beliefs will
cause them to reexamine their values o f morality, their
commitment to our Constitutional Principals and be
guided by “where all men are created equal” from our
Declaration o f Independence.
We hope and pray Majority Leader Trent Lott would
take the necessary steps to genuinely change his heart
A p a n el o f political e x p e rts a n d a c tiv ists d is c u s s black voter turnout in th e recen t election
during a post-election briefing h o s te d by th e National Coalition on Black Civic Participation.
that include the needs o f those in the Black
community. Also, elected officials need to recog
nize that they will be held accountable once
they’re in office.
•
nw-ifl
or “do the right thing” by declining any and all positions
According to anecdotal evidence collected
from NCBCP at sites in 60 cities across the coun
try, Blacks went to the polls at about the same rate
they did in past midterm elections.
o f public leadership.
Phillip West,
Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus chairman
ff
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I light this candle fo r the
bus
who walked
f or an cmireycar.
I light this candle ,o Garrett Morgan
fo r inventing the traffic light a n d to
Dr. Charles D rew fo r discovering the
m ethod o f preserving blood plasma.
I light this candle fo r
the punches thrown by
Joe Louis.
I light this candle fo r the
punches not thrown by
Dr. M a rtin Luther King, Jr.
I
I light this candle in
honor o f the slaves,
who stuck together. -
I light this candle fa r the
fa ith that lit the way fo r
a ll o f them.
This week, we jo in the community in lighting Kwanzaa candles to the African-Americans who made the path brighter fo r all o f us. Happy Kwanzaa.
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