A "Wizard of OZ Moment with Project 21"

 
The leaders of Project 21 are not Black: Executive Director David Almasi, Christopher Burger, David & Amy Ridenour, vice president and president

Blackwashing
Scratch the surface of a Black conservative group and you find a Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy
"Black Conservative to Rebut NAACP Leader's Remarks in C-SPAN Interview," read the press release from Project 21, an organization of conservative African-Americans. I had read in Reuters that Kweisi Mfume, president of the NAACP, had called groups like Project 21 "make-believe black organizations," and a "collection of black hustlers" who have adopted a conservative agenda in return for "a few bucks a head." So I tuned into C-SPAN with interest to hear what a leading voice in the black conservative movement had to say. But then a funny thing happened: the African-American spokesperson for Project 21 caught a flat on the way to the studio, and the group's director had to fill in. And he was white. As the segment began there was an awkward Wizard of Oz moment as C-SPAN's Robb Harlston -- himself black -- turned to Project 21's Caucasian director, David Almasi, and said, "Um...Project 21... a program for conservative African Americans...you're not African American." It was a remarkable moment. [more ]