04 Feb 2014 Sorry NAACP, Project 21 Members are Not Simply Conservative Mouthpieces

Less than a month after demeaning a black conservative lawmaker by comparing him to a ventriloquist’s dummy, an NAACP leader upped the ante by attacking black conservatives and other minorities who favor smaller government and more liberty – calling them “mouthpieces” for an apparently white political conspiracy.

The Washington Post reported that the Reverend William Barber – the head of the NAACP in the state of North Carolina – made his latest claim during an unspecified conference call.  During that call, he implied that white conservatives seek out minorities who share their values to be their “mouthpieces.”  Barber said:

They frantically seek out people of color to become mouthpieces for their particular agenda.

Barber insists his comments – now and when he compared Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) to the ventriloquist’s dummy – are not, according to the Post, “meant to be racial.”  Barber additionally said, “The issue is: Who are you a mouthpiece for when you fight the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.”

Project 21, a volunteer-driven entity, has helped to promote black conservatives for over 20 years.  The National Center, which sponsors Project 21, has never sought to use black conservatives as a “mouthpiece” for any racial agenda – black, white or otherwise.  Members of Project 21 have sought out the organization after they already chose to embrace conservative values and principles of their own volition (and sometimes they were referred by a like-minded friend).

Project 21 members spoke out against Barber when he attacked Senator Scott.

And they certainly don’t agree with the latest musing of this high-ranking NAACP official.

Rebutting Reverend Barber and critics like him that he must deal with on a regular basis due to his outspoken conservative beliefs, Project 21 member Kevin Martin said:

It would seem that William Barber is at it again.  This time, he seeks to attack conservatives of color such as myself as “mouthpieces.”

Barber needs to look in the mirror before he calls out others.  The fact of the matter is that personal experiences and the overall condition of my community shaped my conservative thoughts and ideas.  It has become all too apparent to me that people such as Reverend Barber are opposed to the free will and thought that I want for the black community.  I’m sure that if the modern NAACP had its way, the black community would be nothing more than mouthpieces for liberal causes.

I am fully aware that I will come under attack from people such as Reverend Barber because I am willing to stand up to their failed ideas and their hypocrisy.  Their attacks also show me that I am winning the unspoken debate of ideas with each passing day.

Project 21 member Christopher Arps, a founder of Move-on-up.org, a social network for black conservatives, added about Barber’s assertion:

To the contrary, the only ventriloquist trick being performed here is by liberal puppet masters having their African-American surrogates advocate for policies that have been detrimental to the future prosperity and vitality of African-Americans.

Darryn “Dutch” Martin – a Project 21 member, former American diplomatic official and business consultant – said:

The fact that the NAACP, through Reverend Barber, chooses to take cheap shots at black conservatives plainly shows the declining relevance of that group.  Since their liberal big-government platform is crumbling in the age of Obama, and since their race card has long since expired, they are resorting to the only card they have left to play: ad hominem attacks.