AZ Lawmaker Goes Full Fledged Racist Over Kwanzaa
Arizona State Legislator T.J. Shope may have a bit of a racist streak in him as evidence when he posted this on Xitter:
Per the Phoenix New Times, Shope's blatant racism is getting all the respect it deserves - none:
[Darlene] Little chose not to get worked up about Shope’s comments. “That’s his personal opinion, and he has a right to it,” she said, noting that “African Americans no longer need Anglo people to co-sign everything that we do, or approve it or even understand it.”
But Patience Ogunbanjo, who owns the Nigerian food truck Lasgidi Cafe, called Shope’s post “dismissive,” “a bit prejudiced” and said it “could be defined as racist.” She said, “It reflects the misunderstanding of the profound culture and the cultural significance of Kwanzaa for a lot of African Americans, not only in Phoenix, not only in Arizona, but across the United States.”
As for the idea that Kwanzaa is somehow anti-Christian, Ogunbanjo noted that Kwanzaa is not considered a substitute for religious holidays such as Christmas. Instead, she and Little stress that the celebration is meant to uplift the values in African American and Black communities.