Actor James Earl Jones, appearing Sunday on Public Radio International’s Smiley & West radio show, told Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West that the Tea Party is racist. Jones, 81, recounts growing up and his grandmother’s beliefs.
JAMES EARL JONES: I think I have figured out the Tea Party I think I I do understand racism because I was taught to be one by my grandmother. My grandmother was part [tribal affiliation] Indian part black, she hated everybody and she taught all of her children and grandchildren to be racist to hate white people and to distrust black people.
DR CORNEL WEST: Who does she love then?
JAMES EARL JONES: Nobody
WEST: Nobody at all.
JAMES EARL JONES: But that allowed me to figure it out for myself. And I think I know what racism is better than anyone who has ever been a racist.
James Earl Jones, called ”one of the greatest actors in American history,” may be best-known as the voice of Darth Vader in Star Wars.
Audio and transcript via Brian Maloney
Related:
Conservative Radio Host: Obama Not First Black President, ‘I Call Him A Monkey’
Michelle Malkin Claims No Racism In Tea Party, Demands Retraction On Air
GOP Rep. Joe Walsh: Obama Was Elected President Because He’s Black
White Man’s Bike Gets Stolen — So Thief Must Have Been Black!
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{ 1 comment }
Absolutely. as this 1949 song reminds us:
Here, lyrics to the song:
YOU"VE GOT TO BE CAREFULLY TAUGHT
ARTIST: Rodgers and Hammerstein
from 'SOUTH PACIFIC', 1949
You've got to be taught to hate and fear
You've got to be taught from year to year
It's got to be drummed in your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught
You've got to be taught to be afraid
Of people whose eyes are oddly made
And people whose skin is a different shade
You've got to be carefully taught
You've got to be taught before it's too late
Before you are six or seven or eight
To hate all the people your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught
You've got to be carefully taught
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