African Americans Back Tea Parties More than the Occupy Wall Street Protesters

A funny thing happened on the way to the OWS protests …

It turns out that the  Occupy Wall Street protesters are not being embraced by blacks. In fact, the 1.6% of blacks that make up the OWS protesters is even less than that who support the Tea Party.  So why isn’t the OWS movement diverse? Better question is why isn’t the MSM calling them RACISTS for not being diverse like they did with the Tea Party?

Occupy Wall Street might seem like a movement that would resonate with black Americans. After all, unemployment among African Americans is at 15 percent, vs. almost 8 percent for whites. And between 2005 and 2009, black households lost just over half of their median net worth compared with white families, who lost 16 percent, according to the Pew Research Center.

However, these numbers have not translated into action. A few prominent African Americans, such as Cornel West, Russell Simmons, Kanye West and Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), have made appearances at Occupy protests. “Occupy the Hood,” a recent offshoot, has tried to get more people of color involved. But the main movement remains overwhelmingly white: A Fast Company survey last month found that African Americans, who are 12.6 percent of the U.S. population, make up only 1.6 percent of Occupy Wall Street.

The Gateway Pundit reminds us that a past, the Tea Party has more support from blacks and minorities that the Obama endorsed Occupy Wall Street protests. As the WAPO questions, shouldn’t blacks be for the OWS movement, after all they are more adversely affected than whites by the economy, unemployment and banks. The libs just cannot believe that they do not have any diversity in support of the OWS anti-capitalist protests. Maybe it is because blacks are actually interested in real issues that affect them at home, locally in their lives. Putting on a farcical show of living in tents, doing drugs, raping, sexually assaulting and committing vandalism is not part of what blacks believe in of making a difference.

Is there a chance that the movement can become more diverse? Leslie Wilson, a professor of African American history at Montclair State University, is not optimistic.

“Occupy Wall Street cannot produce enough change to encourage certain types of black participation,” Wilson said in an interview. “The church cannot get enough blacks out on the streets. Some students will go, but not the masses. Black folks, particularly older ones, do not think that this is going to lead to change. .?.?. This generation has already been beaten down and is hurting. They are not willing to risk what little they have for change. Those who are wealthier are not willing to risk and lose.”

Black America’s fight for income equality is not on Wall Street, but is a matter of day-to-day survival. The more pressing battles are against tenant evictions, police brutality and street crime. This group doesn’t see a reason to join the amorphous Occupiers.

So where is the MSM stories and OPED’s calling the OWS crowd racist? If they have any journalistic integrity, if they claimed the Tea party was for a lack of involvement from blacks … they more than would have to do so with the incredible lack of support for the Occupy Wall Street movement. Don’t hold your breath on that one.