Tea Party Race Summit Coming To Philly

(NewsCore) - Tea Party leaders will address charges of racism and take shots at big government in a July 31 rally at Independence Mall in Philadelphia.

The rally, called Uni-Tea, will feature white and black Tea Party supporters in all-day event that will feature live music, a web cast and plenty of Obama bashing.

The site for the event features 13 speakers, with at least 8 speakers being persons of color.

Ironically, President Obama used the same venue during the 2008 Presidential campaign to make his keynote speech about race in America.

The Independence Hall Tea Party is hosting the event, in the wake of the NAACP's public call for the Tea Party to denounce members who are openly racists.

TeaParty365 co-founder David Webb called Sunday for a sequel to last summer's "beer summit," proposing a national "tea summit" to ease tensions over race in America.

In the latest face-off between the conservative political movement and the NAACP on CBS's "Face the Nation" program, Webb accused the head of the NAACP of practicing "selective racism" in calling on the Tea Party to denounce members that use racist language.

Webb, an African-American, accused NAACP President Benjamin Jealous of "playing the race card" for suggesting that fringe elements attending the rallies represent all members of the Tea Party movement.

But he also cited steps the party is taking to be more inclusive, such as planning an upcoming unity rally and expelling Tea Party Express spokesman Mark Williams for a letter on slavery that Webb called "offensive."

Webb also welcomed calls for joint town hall meetings with the NAACP, recalling the meeting President Barack Obama hosted last July with Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. and police officer James Crowley.

"Think what it would mean to this nation if we would have an open forum and a real tea summit -- instead of a beer summit -- on race relations," he said.

Jealous said he was open to the idea, but said the forum should be on issues other than race.

"There should be no debate about racism," he said.

While praising Webb for speaking out against race, Jealous called for other Tea Party leaders to also "come out and say things nationally."