Unending Racism

[Photo - Steve Cohen, 9th Cong. Dist., Memphis, TN]

In recent weeks, racists have renewed their attacks on Barack Obama. These attacks will no doubt continue and increase in quantity and vileness.

One might think that victims of racism would be especially careful to refrain from racist comments or sentiments, themselves. That is not always true.

The 9th Congressional District in Memphis, Tennessee is represented by Steve Cohen, a Democrat.

About a month ago, a pastor by name of George Brooks, from Murfreesboro, Tennessee sent out a flier that circulated in the Memphis area which said "Steve Cohen and the Jews hate Jesus," among other things.

Brooks claimed he did this because the 9th Congressional District is "about 90-something percent black." [Actually, the last U.S. census showed the district to be 59.7 percent black.] Whatever the percentage, Brooks obviously assumes that a white person cannot effectively represent the 9th Congressional District.

Why he should care, living outside of the district in Murfreesboro, is another question.

Cohen will be challenged by an African-American labor lawyer, Nikki Tinker, in the Democratic primary on August 5. Tinker's spokesman in Washington insisted that Tinker had nothing to do with the flier.

Cohen had to face a similar smear attempt based on his religion and race in a previous campaign, but he said "the people of the 9th District rejected that and gave me overwhelming support."

It ain't over yet, though. Feelings run deep as shown last August when the Black Baptist Ministerial Association expressed anger at Cohen's vote in favor of the Hate Crimes bill. When Cohen met with the group, one of the ministers, Robert Poindexter of Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, said "He's not black and he can't represent me."

Now that's clearly out-and-out racism. And it's a sad commentary on the Christianity of one Robert Poindexter.