Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum Slammed by NAACP for 'Insulting' Statements About Blacks
Newt Gingrich is the latest Republican presidential hopeful to be accused of insulting African Americans after making controversial comments regarding social security.
At a town hall meeting in Plymouth, N.H. on Thursday, Gingrich proposed talks with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to establish "why the African-American community should demand paychecks and not be satisfied with food stamps."
Gingrich, who claims to be a devout Catholic, was immediately lambasted by critics who accused him of using racist undertones to attack minorities.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Many were left outraged, suggesting that Gingrich insinuated that all African-Americans are lazy and receive food stamps.
In a media release sent directly to The Christian Post, Marc H. Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League, addressed Gingrich's remarks.
"Gingrich's suggestion that the African American community would prefer food stamps to jobs is beyond insulting. The vast majority of food stamps recipients- 70 percent- are white," Morial fumed.
"Gingrich has decided to compete with Rick Santorum for the votes of the extreme right-wing faction of the Republican electorate. Sadly that means dredging up the discredited racial stereotypes of the past," he added.
Gingrich's remarks follow that of Rick Santorum's, who was recently blasted for his recent comments about "blacks" while campaigning in Iowa.
”I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money. I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money and provide for themselves and their families," Santorum was quoted as saying.
Santorum denied making the comments, and told Fox News' Bill O'Reilly that he had said "blah people.”
“I don't use the term 'black' very often. I use the term 'African-American' more than I use 'black,’" he explained.
The controversial comments have raised questions about whether using the term "African-American" to describe the racially diverse black community as a whole is appropriate.
NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous addressed Gingrich's invitation to discuss social security.
“It is a shame that the former Speaker feels that these types of inaccurate, divisive statements are in any way helpful to our country,” Jealous said in a statement.
"The majority of people using food stamps are not African-American, and most people using food stamps have a job," he added.
Although Gingrich insisted that he would like to unite with the NAACP, the organization claims he has rejected their previous invitations.
“We invited Speaker Gingrich to attend our annual convention several times when he was Speaker of the House, but he declined to join us,” Jealous said.
Gingrich has not yet responded to the NAACP's claims.
