Inge Marler, Arkansas Tea Party Leader, Makes Racist Joke

Inge Marler, a board member with the Arkansas Tea Party, is under fire for making a racist joke as an ice breaker for her speech at the annual rally of the Ozark Tea Party.

The Tea Party, who has been accused of racism before, has publicly been condemned by the party, following them being contacted about the comment by the Baxter Bulletin, according to The Huffington Post.

Marler’s racist joke is the following:

“A black kid asks his mom, ‘Mama, what’s a democracy?’

“‘Well, son, that be when white folks work every day so us po’ folks can get all our benefits.’

“‘But mama, don’t the white folk get mad about that?’

“‘They sho do, son. They sho do. And that’s called racism.'”

The Huffington Post reports that the joke drew laughs from the audience, although Inge Marler has stated she will no longer use the joke.

The Arkansas incident is not the first accusation of racism for the group. The Tea Party phenomenon, which gathered steam last spring, has been plagued with charges of racism since its inception, according to The Daily Beast. Some placards at rallies have depicted President Barack Obama as a witch doctor and even likened Congress to a slave owner, with the taxpayer as a “n—-r.”

Opponents of the controversial group have taken these examples as proof that the Tea Party members are simply angry white folks who can’t stand having a black president.

While the Arkansas Tea Party is apologizing for Inge Marler’s insensitive joke, it is probably not the last time we will hear of the Tea Party being accused as racist.