Editor's Note: The following is a letter from the Virginia chapter of the NAACP criticising U.S. Sen. Jim Webb for his recent column in The Wall Street Journal calling for an end to federal diversity programs.
July 26, 2010
The Honorable Jim Webb, Senator
United States Senate
225 Russell Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Re: Op-Ed Piece in the WSJ on the Myth of White Privilege!
Dear Senator Webb:
On behalf of the Virginia State Conference NAACP, its’ over 100-Adult Branches, College Chapters & Youth Councils we greet you as a fellow Life Member of our Association as we commemorate our 75th Anniversary the Diamond Jubilee at our State Convention, October 29-31, 2010 in the place of our founding Roanoke, Virginia.
Senator Webb, we have read your piece entitled, "Diversity & the Myth of White Privilege." We vehemently disagree with your analysis and wonder if serving in the elite, rich United States Senate has skewed your vision of the world in which we live. Your opponent then and coming George Allen would not have had the gall to write about the "myth of white privilege" even though I am sure he feels that way. In African culture, it is said, when people show & tell you who they are. Believe them!" Your written word has spoken volumes for your belief system.
It appears that you and U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul are kith and kin. Do you really believe that affirmative action has hurt white, Anglo-Saxon Protestants or are you pandering to the divisive, conservative, Tea Bagger types whose votes you will need in 2012? The true beneficiaries of affirmative action programs are white, Anglo-Saxon women…overwhelmingly. If a white, republican, ultra-right winger, or Rush, Beck or O’Reilly had written or spoken it, the world would have known about it. But, you have written it and it did not go unnoticed but it did not garner the attention that it should have. After the race baiting of the past week concerning the U.S.D.A. and the right-wing blogger who doctored the tape and the statistics that show the African (Black) community’s suffering disproportionately during this economic depression, one would think that you would have more sensitivity than to pen that science fiction. Have you advocated for the funding for the long overdue settlement for the Black farmers? John Boyd and the farmers need some help.
You have given cover & solace to those "who want to take their country back (from whom?), who want to reload not regroup, who think it is ok to spit on and use racial epithets against African members of the House of Representatives. Senator Webb, we need to meet to discuss your philosophy and other relevant issues like: bailouts for the rich and sellouts for taxpayers, the unethical profits of the oil companies at the expense of citizens, the Iraq & Afghanistan wars that are killing our soldiers and the economy, the outsourcing of jobs to India, China & Brazil at the expense of U.S. workers and a plethora of other life and death issues that you could have championed in the Wall Street Journal. Oh, did I forget…JOBS, JOBS, and more JOBS for the citizens of this country!
Does your colleague, Junior Senator Mark Warner concur with your belief? We will ask him as well. Well, fellow member of the NAACP, we look forward to your timely response and we can’t wait to meet you!
Sincerely,
King Salim Khalfani
Executive Director
CC: Senator Mark Warner
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