Congressional Black Caucus putting uppity minority in their place

[Darth Executor]

http://news.yahoo.com/black-lawmaker...-politics.html

The Congressional Black Caucus members urged Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Attorney General Eric Holder to hold off until the Justice Department investigates any discriminatory practices by the tribe. Neither department has responded to the request, made in a Sept. 23 letter, according to a spokeswoman for Mississippi Democrat Bennie Thompson, who signed the letter.

The letter cited a report by the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs that quoted tribal law: "No member of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe shall intermarry with anny (sic) Nation except White or Indian under penalty of forfeiting their rights in Town."

The bureau said it had no indication the tribe had changed its ban, but Pamunkey Chief Kevin Brown responded in a letter to the CBC that the ban has been repealed. He said in an interview that the change was made in 2012.

The butthurt is amusing considering the Congressional Black Caucus itself has an informal racial purity test for membership. More on that from, err, wikipedia:

All past and present members of the caucus have been black. In 2006, while running for Congress in a Tennessee district which is 60% black, white candidate Steve Cohen pledged to apply for membership in order to represent his constituents. However, after his election, his application was refused. Although the bylaws of the caucus do not make race a prerequisite for membership, former and current members of the caucus agreed that the group should remain "exclusively black". In response to the decision, Rep. Cohen referred to his campaign promise as "a social faux pas" because "It's their caucus and they do things their way. You don't force your way in. You need to be invited."

Rep. William Lacy Clay, Jr., D-MO., the son of Rep. William Lacy Clay Sr., D-MO., a co-founder of the caucus, said: "Mr. Cohen asked for admission, and he got his answer. He's white and the caucus is black. It's time to move on. We have racial policies to pursue and we are pursuing them, as Mr. Cohen has learned. It's an unwritten rule. It's understood." Clay also issued the following statement:

Quite simply, Rep. Cohen will have to accept what the rest of the country will have to accept—there has been an unofficial Congressional White Caucus for over 200 years, and now it's our turn to say who can join 'the club.' He does not, and cannot, meet the membership criteria, unless he can change his skin color. Primarily, we are concerned with the needs and concerns of the black population, and we will not allow white America to infringe on those objectives.

Later the same week Representative Tom Tancredo, R-CO., objected to the continued existence of the CBC as well as the Democratic Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Republican Congressional Hispanic Conference arguing that, "It is utterly hypocritical for Congress to extol the virtues of a color-blind society while officially sanctioning caucuses that are based solely on race. If we are serious about achieving the goal of a colorblind society, Congress should lead by example and end these divisive, race-based caucuses."

[Bill the Cat]

Their refusal to accept Clay was in violation of Federal Law, since the CBC uses federally owned property to meet. They are not allowed to discriminate in their membership on those grounds. If I was Clay, I'd sue.

[Darth Executor]

Clay can always pull a Shawn King like this guy:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._K._Butterfield

Butterfield was born and raised in a prominent African-American family in Wilson, North Carolina, the son of Addie Lourine (née Davis) and George Kenneth Butterfield, both of mixed race. Butterfield's father immigrated to the United States from Bermuda.

Described by the Washington Post as an "African-American who appears to be white", Butterfield acknowledges he has European as well as African ancestry, and that he identifies as African American. He has noted that he grew up on the "black side" of town and led civil rights marches. He is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

"African American"