Are All Colors Welcome in the Tea Party Movement?

The history of African American political leadership in the GOP has been relatively minuscule. When the Tea Party Movement, a far-right leaning offshoot of the GOP, emerged in 2009, it advocated, among other things, a strict adherence to the original interpretation of the U.S. Constitution. As such, in the Nov. 2010 elections, the Tea Party endorsed Dr. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who is purportedly suggesting eliminating discrimination only in public institutions. He supports this with the notion that less government is the better, and thus the government has no place enforcing such laws for private individuals and businesses. His endorsement and election raises the question as to whether the Tea Party Movement is racially divisive.