“National NRAAC Chair says, ‘Mr. Limbaugh, when there is a tragedy of this magnitude where so many lives are lost, and people are left devastated, it is not a time for political ignorance.”
__ NRAAC, Nat’l Chair
The National Republican African American Caucus extends its heartfelt prayers and sympathy for the people of Haiti.
“We pray for the strength of the Haitian people, and we seek God’s grace and tender mercies for them during this tragic hour”, says National Chair Dr. Jean Howard-Hill. “You cannot help but feel their pain and bear their sorrow and grief. It is a heartbreaking tragedy which will take the concern and efforts of all of us to mend and restore the lives of those affected.”
In an e-mail to all NRAAC members, Dr. Howard-Hill has urged each individual to do what they can financially to help, and equally as important to keep the people of Haiti in their hearts and prayers.
National Chair Howard-Hill also chides some of those who recently made comments regarding this tragedy.
“In many ways it also is tragic that we have become so partisan as a nation, and so mean spirited within the Republican Party, that we cannot call a truce long enough to share in the grief and loss of life of those in Haiti. Although I am confident that not every Republican shares in the sentiments of either Rush Limbaugh or Pat Robertson, it is nevertheless troubling to hear it coming from my party – one which boasts of a moral majority. ”
“I am so ashamed”, she says “of the position some who have dubbed themselves as Republican voices have taken at a time when the best of the compassionate spirit of those who are Republicans should be actively engaged.
“Mr. Limbaugh, when there is a tragedy of this magnitude where so many lives are lost, and people are left devastated, it is not at time for political ignorance.”
She says that the remarks by Rush Limbaugh are totally off basis, and will serve to continue to weaken the Republican Party even more.
“You cannot make these kinds of remarks and not expect a frown and a response of utter dismay”, says Howard-Hill.
She says to both Limbaugh and Pat Roberson, “This is the time to show our Republican moral fiber. If ever there was a time to be compassionate, it is now.”
The National Chair also says, that the membership of the NRAAC was pleased to see former President G. W. Bush accept the humanitarian olive branch to work together with former President Bill Clinton, extended to both presidents by President Barack Obama.
“President Bush knows well the burden that falls on the shoulder of leadership during this type of tragedy, and I believe that if he could relive Katrina, he too would do the same as President Obama. So there is no need to make this political by either party. There is nothing political about President Obama’s swift move to send aid, nor is it an opportunity to criticize President Bush for what has happened in the past. It is this day and this hour, which will define who we are and who we have become as we learn from those teachable moments from America’s past.” She says.
“It speaks well of all three to see them put aside partisan politics and see the tremendous needs of the Haitian people. To label this as anything else other than positive is a misreading of what it truly means to be compassionate and sensitive to the needs of others during their hour of tragedy.”
She very clearly concludes that, “Neither Rush Limbaugh, nor Pat Robinson speaks for the membership of the National Republican African American Caucus regarding Haiti”.
[Dr. Jean Howard-Hill is the author of Black Eyes Shut, White Lips Sealed. She has served as the national chair for the National Black Republican Women with her late husband, Attorney Bobby Lee Hill serving as the head of the Black Republican Men for Change from 1987 to his death in 1991. After his death up until 1993, she remained head of the organization, and in 1999 combined the two groups to form the National Republican African American Caucus. Outside of her role as the National Republican African American Caucus [NRAAC] national chair, Howard-Hill is known for her involvement within the African American community and her efforts to correct and enhance verbal, written and presentational skills of African American students, and her “Pull up Your Pants and Dress for Success Campaign” to improve the appearance and fate of African American males. She has created and directed the Many Facers of Diversity at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, which teaches these skills to minority, “at-risk”, and first generation college bound students. She is currently working on the Tennessee Youth Research Study, a research project aimed at identifying causes and providing connectors to reconnect to the youth of this generation. She also has taught full time and as an adjunct, American Government, State and Local Government, and International Politics and Culture of Nonwestern Countries at UTC, and was voted 2006 Outstanding Professor of the year. Additionally, from 1976 to 1979, she designed and directed the “Democracy In Action” Program, which was a civics programs taught in the local school systems. Howard-Hill also is a local political commentator and holds a law degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville College of Law.]
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