Benjamin Jealous of NAACP slams Senator Tim Scott; says Scott does not believe in civil rights

Benjamin Jealous of NAACP slams Senator Tim Scott; says Scott does not believe in civil rights

By Victor Trammell

      Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina was just sworn in to the U.S. Senate as the first Black senator since the reconstruction. Scott is a proud conservative who was endorsed by the Tea Party. He believes in smaller government and the free market principles that encourage job creation.                            

     However, there are liberal Black leaders that are not impressed with Scott’s voting record and have made that clear to him and America.

     NAACP leaders such as Rev. Joe Darby and Benjamin Jealous have accused Scott of being insensitive to the needs of the Black cause in America. Their  organization believes that Scott does not care about civil rights. Rev. Darby quoted the following about Scott’s voting record:

     “I think only a couple of times, maybe one or two, he voted with what the organization perceived as in line with the organization’s agenda.” (Afro.com)

     Benjamin Jealous concurred with his fellow NAACP leader and said in a statement:

     “We have Republicans that believe in Civil Rights and unfortunately, he is not one of them.”                      (Afro.com)

     Scott defended himself against the NAACP criticism and downplayed the relevance of race towards finding solutions in public policy. He said in a statement:

     “I think that some folks want to find a way to make race more of a part of their conversation going forward and I think that it’s time for us to continue to move forward as a nation.

     “The way to get beyond it is realizing we have an opportunity to inspire folks. The future of this nation is dependent on someone coming up with one really good idea and that’s part of the free market system that we have.”         (Afro.com)