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.
“It’s a community celebration about life, love and culture,” Little said. “I don’t know how anybody can be opposed to that. You don’t have to celebrate it. You don’t have to see it. You don’t have to do anything with it.”
The report did not include whether Shope was wearing his white robe and hood when he made that ignorant post.
