Actor Morgan Freeman has received a standing invitation to attend a Tea Party event after he dismissed the conservative grass-roots movement as racist.
Ali Akbar, a 26-year-old black small business owner who is one of the original national Tea Party organizers, wrote an open letter to the Academy-Award winning performer, who is African American, inviting him to a Tea Party in Tennessee, the place of Freeman’s birth, or any location in the country, to prove his opinion is wrong.
“Your comments about the Tea Party have caused me physical pain,” Akbar wrote. “You’ve rekindled the old painful paradigm of Uncle Tom – that any black man who votes Republican is some kind of sellout. It’s not true. I work hard, pay my taxes, love Jesus, and I’m good to my family and community. In effect, your comments have stereotyped an entire group of people. And I know in my soul that you must regret that on some level.”
Representatives for Freeman could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
Freeman told CNN last Friday that he believes the Tea Party is driven by racism.
“Their stated policy, publicly stated, is to do whatever it takes to see to it that Obama only serves one term,” Freeman told Piers Morgan. “What underlines that? ‘Screw the country. We’re going to whatever we can to get this black man outta here.’ ”
Freeman rejected Morgan’s suggestion that race wasn’t a factor.
“It is a racist thing,” he said, later adding that the Tea Party agenda “just shows the weak, dark, underside of America. We’re supposed to be better than that.”
Black businessman Herman Cain, a Tea Party favorite who is running for the GOP presidential nomination, told Fox News on Saturday that he doubts Freeman has ever been to a Tea Party event, like most people who criticize the movement as racist.
“I just think it’s sad that they’re so short-sighted in really understanding what the whole Tea Party citizen movement is all about,” he told Neil Cavuto. “I’m not offended by it because it doesn’t slow down my momentum. It doesn’t slow down the reaction that I get from people.”
This article was written by STAFF; full article at FOX …
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I have attended Tea Party meetings, there are lots of black people there besides white people AND, they are nice people. Everyone is friendly and mannerly. The ugliness comes in from the outside, the left to be exact. I hope Mr. Freeman will accept the invitation and take time to see what the Tea Party is really about, it sure isn’t racism. I wouldn’t care if Mr. O was purple if he had America’s best interest at heart but he doesn’t. His color is of no importance at all. It’s what he has done and is doing to our country. That’s what the Tea Party is about sir. These are people who love this country.
September 30, 2011 at 10:02 am
Furthermore, I think this president and Harry Reid and Nancy are sending this country into total bankruptcy. This President is totally out his league. To bad he will go down in history as one of the worst President’s ever. My health insurance has gone up 31% since the beginning of this fisical year because of Obama care. And only because of Obama care. I am closing shop on December 31st and keeping my money until something changes. I think Morgan should pay extra for all crap pushed by this administration.
September 29, 2011 at 9:44 pm
I think this man has been living in fairtale land too long. He needs to get out of fairytale land and look around and see what has been going on for so long against the people that really make this country move and shake. For sure, it is not Hollywood and make believe movies.
September 29, 2011 at 9:35 pm
How disappointing to learn Morgan FREEMAN, one whom I’ve admired for years, just PLAYS the part of a wise man and has yet to overcome his slave mentality. He should have chosen the name “Morgan Angryslave”.
September 29, 2011 at 5:26 pm
Ali Akbar has class, Morgan Freeman has not. I will wait to see if Morgan Freeman does go to a TEA Party before I decide whether to boycott any Morgan Freeman film.
September 29, 2011 at 4:06 pm