Clyburn: ‘What’s The Big Fuss About The Word ‘Negro’?’

Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-SC)
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House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC), the highest-ranking African-American in Congress, said today that Harry Reid is “one of the most stand up guys I have ever met in my life.”

Speaking on The Ed Show on MSNBC, Clyburn added that Reid’s civil rights record is
something “all of us in the African American community can be proud of and can support,” and defended the Nevada Senator against charges of racism and GOP calls for him to resign for making racial comments about Barack Obama in 2008.

He went on to question if Reid’s comments should even be considered racial: “What is the big fuss about the word ‘Negro’?” Clyburn said. “I support the United Negro College Fund, I support the National Council of Negro Women. We still use those two terms, because they have been part of our history for a long time.”

Clyburn ended by proclaiming: “It is not their words that we ought to be cognizant of, it’s their deeds,” before ending “[Reid]’s work speaks for him.”

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