As a black conservative and member of the Tea Party, Deneen Borelli (pictured above) says she's been called an "oreo" and an "Uncle Tom."

In fact, according to Borelli, there would be more black people at Tea Party events like Thursday's tax day protests if blacks weren't afraid of the backlash they would receive from family and friends.

Borelli thinks Tea Party members have been unfairly branded as racists when their main concern is promoting individual responsibility and smaller government.

Borelli is a fellow with Project 21, a network of black conservatives that is an initiative of The National Center for Public Policy Research in Washington, D.C. She is also a frequent speaker at Tea Party events. Borelli sat down with Aol. Black Voices to discuss the future of the Tea Party, its place in the American political landscape and why the Tea Party is not racist despite occurrences that have led many to the opposite belief.

Black Voices: How did you become involved with the black conservative movement and what prompted you to become a member of the Tea Party?

The more and more I got involved in reading about the issues and learning how they affect Americans, I got more and more involved and ended up working at Project 21. At Project 21, we promote the importance of self-reliance and small government. We communicate that through radio and television, and we do public speaking. As a result of the work I do at Project 21, that opened the opportunity for me to be a speaker at FreedomWorks 9/12 march on D.C. From there I've been speaking at a number of Tea Party events. I'm a Tea Party member.

BV: Why do you think more African Americans aren't involved in the conservative movement or Tea Party movement?

There are two concerns about it: They are concerned and afraid of backlash from family and friends - in order to fit in and not be challenged about their individual views and perspectives on issues. There are some people who are not politically active, which is one of the reasons why the Tea Party movement came about. You had hundreds of thousands of people who were politically asleep. With all of the spending and bailouts and the number of different things that happened in Washington over the last few years, people got more and more involved and educated. When they tried to voice their concerns to their representatives, it fell on deaf ears and they were ignored. That's why the Tea Party movement has grown. As far as black individuals, some are not politically active on a regular basis. I myself was not politically active 8 to 10 years ago. I was working full-time and going to college at night to get my degree, which took me 11 years, so my focus was elsewhere. Once I had the time and the opportunity to do my own research and learn and understand about the issues, I got more and more involved and that's what brings me to where I am today.

BV: Personal responsibility and small government seem like code words for something else. What do they mean to you?

When I talk about self-reliance and personal responsibility, I mean it's up to the individual to help themselves, to make a difference, to have a happy and successful life and not to be dependent on the government to do so. Government interaction in our everyday lives means a reduction in liberty.



BV: But don't we all rely on the government in one way or another. Isn't that why we created government?

The government's overall role is to protect our country and respect our personal property. But when it comes to the government providing government-run health care, where it's not free, individuals will be taxed. It's not a free ride. Someone is paying for it and someone is gaining that is not paying. In my opinion, what was Medicaid for? Medicaid was created for individuals that could not afford health care. That is not the route this administration took.

BV: When it comes to African Americans, historically, with racism, the government has had to step in throughout our country's history to guarantee people's rights and enforce certain laws.

If you are talking about the '50s and '60s, when the government did have to step in, that was a different time. Blacks were not allowed good access for good housing, a quality education, for jobs. Times were different then. Today, there is access to those areas.

BV: Well, have things changed? What about the sub-prime mortgage crisis where you have minorities and people of color being targeted? So with something like that, the government should not step in where they see certain groups being targeted.

When the government did step in with the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act that was a program where banks were mandated to provide loans to minorities, but what the program did was force banks to provide loans to individuals who could not necessarily afford the loans. When that happens, you have people who did not have to provide proof of employment, they did not have to provide what means they had to pay for their loans. People should have a good place to live in a safe neighborhood for their family. But when you have a program that sets people up, where they don't have the means to pay for their obligations, they are doomed to fail.

BV: So the government should not have stepped in to health care to correct health companies who deny people because of preexisting conditions or who charge women more than men because they have babies. Do you think those conditions are not a problem or that the government should not be involved in fixing them. If so, who should help resolve these issues?

Each case is different. If you are unable to afford health care, that's what the Medicaid program was designed for. For the government to step in and to mandate all Americans to get insurance - whether you will be fined because you have your plan you want to stick with or whether you have to go in to the government-run program, which would put a bureaucrat between you, your doctor, your child - that to me is not the proper role of government. It's not the government's role to provide the wants and needs of all Americans. That's just not their role.

BV: What is the Tea Party? What are the group's goals?

There isn't one main group or one main leader of the tea parties. There are thousands of different groups composed of thousands of individuals, so it clearly is an independent movement, which means you are going to have independent agendas across the board. The overall concern of Tea Party members is fiscal responsibility and government spending too much. People want lower taxes because when you have less taxes you have more money in your pocket to do what you need to do for yourself and your family. We want less spending and accountability. What's not good for the country is a government spending too much money that we clearly don't have, which means we are in debt and obligated to other countries to pay for that debt. Less interaction for government on individuals means more freedom and choices for individuals.

For example, the administration wants to impose a cap and trade program, which is a tax on fossil fuels. With a current economy which is weak and unemployment at 10 percent--and fossil fuels is 85 percent of our energy needs for the country, it's cheap, it's reliable, it's affordable--if you put a tax on fossil fuels think about what that would do for a household on a fixed income. If your heat, electricity and air conditioning is going to go up, that money has to come from someplace else or you have to use less. Why interject a program that will reduce our standard of living?

BV: But what about the way in which fossil fuels are destroying the planet? Global warming? There will be dire consequences if we continue to use fossil fuels as we have in past generations.

There really isn't proof that fossil fuels are destroying the planet. Even when the administration tried to get a global treaty with all other countries, they won't sign on as one. China, India, they are more concerned about jobs and keeping people employed than trying to promote a program that really doesn't have evidence that it is harming the planet. It's just not there.

BV: If the Tea Party was concerned about spending and bailouts, why was there not this alarm when President George W. Bush was in office? Some argue that his policies led to the need for a bailout. Where was this outrage during other presidencies?

I think it was a culmination of things. During the Bush administration, there was too much spending but add that to what has gone on in the last year with the bailout and the market crash, the instability of the economy and high unemployment. That's what propelled individuals to take to the streets, because they were being ignored by their representatives. They don't want to face you because they are concerned about the pressure and what's going on?

BV: So it has nothing to do with the fact that President Barack Obama is in office?

If we were on the same path that we are going on today, it wouldn't have mattered who is in the White House. Black, white Democrat, Republican, it wouldn't have mattered. The majority of Americans are concerned about the direction of the country. I know there are a lot of comments being made that this is going on because Obama is black. It has nothing to do with anyone's race. It has to do with the policies and the direction the country is going. People are concerned about their jobs, their families.

BV: Can't you make the argument, regardless of your political leanings, that the things President Obama are responding to - such as the market crash, bailout and the country's huge debt - are things that happened over the past eight years?

I didn't say these issues just came out. It took a number of years for us to get to where we are now in terms of the budget, deficit and spending.

BV: The Tea Party gets a lot of support from conservative Republicans like Dick Armey. Does that compromise your message?

The Tea Party movement is about individuals from all political backgrounds. There is a mix of different political backgrounds. They are concerned about the direction the country is going and concerned about the future for their children and grandchildren.

BV: Are there many Black Tea Party members?

I don't know how many there are, but there were a number of black individual speakers at the 9/12 event I spoke at last year. On my Facebook, I have a number of individuals that are black Tea Party members. As long as the message gets out and is communicated, there are more people, black, white, otherwise who are stepping up and getting involved in the movement.

BV: Is the Tea Party a racist organization? There was the recent controversy with the Tea Party founder holding a sign with a racial slur against African Americans. Another Tea Party group posted racial slurs against Latinos on their website.

With groups like this, you will always have people with their own objectives. You will always have bad apples in the group. It's freedom of speech. You can hold up a sign and say whatever you want, but the overwhelming majority of Tea Party members are not racist. I would not be part of a program deemed racist. For me to be involved, I can't be racist so I'm called other things because I have a difference of opinion. "Uncle Tom," "House Negro," you name it. If you're black, you are called those names, and if you are white, you are a racist. Clearly, there are individuals trying to marginalize the movement one way or the other. But the fact of the matter is there are more and more people getting involved on a daily basis and the movement is not going to go away anytime soon.

I see more blacks getting more involved. As far as the future of Tea Party movement, individuals are having more face time and conversation with their representatives to let their representatives know they are watching and to let them know the decision they are making on constituents behalf should be top of mind, not whatever party they are associated with. Perhaps they are more concerned with their careers versus what their constituents' concerns are. Tea Party members [are] watching and learning and mindful. They are reminding their representatives they are being watched, and if they don't like what they see, they will not be reelected.

BV: What about some of the rhetoric coming from the Tea Party? Some Congress members say they were spat upon and called slurs during the health care debate. There were threats made against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Patty Murray. What about the charges that the language the Tea Party uses is divisive and incendiary?

If anything, people opposed to the party are the ones making these comments. As far as Rep. Cleaver (who said he was spit on) to date there has yet to be an audio or visual evidence to support what was reported in the media. There isn't any proof or merit to say that happened. I have yet to see that the individual deliberately spat on him.

BV: Why should African Americans become involved in the Tea Party? What would you say to recruit me to your cause?

If you care about liberty, if you care about the country, the Tea Party movement is about small government and liberty. My message to anyone, black or white, is to make independent decisions and choices for yourself. If you are only going by one-sided feedback on what the Tea Party is about, you need to see both sides of the spectrum. Meet with people. Talk to people. Unfortunately, what has happened with the major media is there is more negative coming out about the movement than positive. For me, personally speaking, I would not be part of a movement that is racist or had negative intentions.


BV: I have a few thoughts after speaking with Borelli. I think the goals of holding the government accountable for how they spend our tax dollars is a good idea. After all, the people we elect to office are supposed to be working to improve life for us. However, I question the motivations of those in the Tea Party.. Much of what is happening politically in this country, in terms of the budget and deficit, occurred under former President George W. Bush. I'm just not convinced that this movement would have happened if John McCain was president.

A new poll from CBS and the New York Times shows that most Tea Party members are from the South and identify themselves as conservatives (73 percent) and Republican (54 percent). Fifty-three percent of Tea Party members identify themselves as angry compared to 19 percent of the country. I don't think that's because of the direction of the country, but because many have - for the first-time - with the economic downturn, felt what it is like to struggle in this country or worry about their future.

Talk of diversity among the group is overrated. Eighty-nine percent are white and only 1 percent are black. Fifty-two percent of Tea party members say too much is made of the issues facing African-Americans. That compares to only 28 percent of the rest of the country.

Eighty-eight percent of Tea Party members say they don't think President Obama is doing a good job compared with only 40 percent of the rest of the country. The top reason Tea Party members (19 percent) gave for disliking Obama is simply that they did not like him. At the same time, 66 percent have a favorable opinion of Sarah Palin, 59 percent have a favorable opinion of Glenn Beck and 57 percent think well of former President George W. Bush. Another 11 percent said that Obama is moving this country toward socialism. Thirty percent think Obama was born in another country. Both are outrageously ridiculous and dangerous charges.

Another issue seems to be plain and simple greed. When Borelli speaks about someone getting health care who couldn't pay for it, that is simply placing money above the value of human life. I'll never understand how we can be more concerned about money than making sure everyone in the richest country in the history of mankind has access to decent health care. Medicaid is for the extremely poor. What about your friends and neighbors who go to work every day but who are going bankrupt because of medical bills? Instead of reacting to difficult times by making sure we have a system in place to compassionately help those in need, it seems some Tea Party members are more concerned with helping only themselves.

What do you think?