Tea Party-NAACP Race Flap: Time for a New Kind of Affirmative Action

The Tea Party’s fight with the NAACP reveals what’s wrong with the debate about race. Peter Beinart calls for a new kind of affirmative action, based on class, not skin color.

Published Jul. 21 2010 6:43PM EDT

articles/2010/07/21/tea-party-naacp-race-flap-time-for-a-new-kind-of-affirmative-action/beinart-affirmative-action_115038_gweeot — Mary Altaffer / AP Photo

articles/2010/07/21/tea-party-naacp-race-flap-time-for-a-new-kind-of-affirmative-action/beinart-affirmative-action_115038_nmijqt

Is the Tea Party racist? It all depends on what you mean by racist. For conservatives, for the most part, racism means personal animus: Would you invite your black neighbor over for dinner? For liberals, and especially African Americans, racism means structural unfairness: Why don’t you have any black neighbors?...

Peter Beinart

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Tea Party-NAACP Race Flap: Time for a New Kind of Affirmative Action

The Tea Party’s fight with the NAACP reveals what’s wrong with the debate about race. Peter Beinart calls for a new kind of affirmative action, based on class, not skin color.

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Peter Beinart