Legislative Black Caucus Takes High Road
From the Associated Press: The leader of the Black Legislative Caucus says the group may let state Rep. Stacey Campfield in as an honorary member, but says he first would like a better apology from the white Republican who attacked its bylaws as racist. Campfield said he doesn’t want to be an honorary member and said the Black Caucus needs to remove “discriminatory” language so that lawmakers of any race can be full members.
The Black Caucus chairman, Democratic Rep. Johnny Shaw of Bolivar, said he would consider letting Campfield in as an honorary member, subject to the vote of the full group. Right now, the group has a handful of white lawmakers as honorary members. Shaw said he thinks it would be appropriate for Campfield to apologize in person to his group for saying the Black Caucus’ policies restricting full membership to only black lawmakers was even more racist than the white supremacist Ku Klux Klan.
The issue first arose last month when it was reported that Campfield had earlier asked about joining the group. Campfield was then accused of being a racist after using the Rev. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech last week as part of his argument on why he should be allowed into the Black Caucus. It reached a crescendo when Campfield made the KKK comparison.
On Friday, Campfield issued an apology for any “misunderstanding” about his comments and stressed he was only comparing the bylaws of the Black Caucus with the KKK. Campfield didn’t back down on Monday, saying the group needs to let in “people of all races, regardless of the color of their skin, can become full and equal members.”
“I apologized for the misunderstanding.” he said. “I wasn’t trying to compare the Black Caucus to any hate group. What I was speaking to was strictly their bylaws, and their discriminatory nature. And I stand by the statement that their bylaws are discriminatory. When you define someone by the color of their skin instead of the content of their character, that to me, is the definition of racism.”
Campfield said he has a large minority population in the district he represents and believes he could be a helpful addition to the Black Caucus. “I represent all people - blacks, whites, Asians, men, women, Hispanics, Democrats, Republicans - it doesn’t matter to me, I represent everybody,” he said.
The Tennessee NAACP asked for a more thorough apology on Monday, following a similar Friday request from its Nashville chapter. “It’s clear that Mr. Campfield is neither sorry for his comments nor capable of suppressing his disdain for black members of the Tennessee General Assembly,” state NAACP President Gloria J. Sweet-Love said in a letter to the Tennessee Republican Party.
Campfield said he was choosing to push the issue with the Black Caucus, instead of groups such as the Women’s Political Caucus, because he believes the Black Caucus receives state support. There are many caucuses in the legislature, but most are fairly informal. The three most recognizable and vocal are the Republican Caucus, Democratic Caucus and Black Caucus.
Shaw said the Black Caucus was formed to give black people a stronger voice at the Capitol. He said no white legislator has ever before asked to become a full member, but he may raise the issue when the legislature convenes in January. “We really don’t have anything to prove or to hide in terms of what the Black Caucus is all about,” he said.
