Clarence Page: One Man's Amnesty is Another's Disaster

"A group of black leaders vigorously opposed to anything resembling amnesty for illegal immigrants unveiled themselves at the National Press Club in late May. The most notable quality that I noticed about the group of educators, organizers and commentators was how unknown they probably are to most other black Americans," says Clarence Page. "Instead of high-profile civil rights establishmentarians such as Rev. Jesse Jackson, for example, the group included Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, conservative author of the 2003 book 'Scam: How the Black Leadership Exploits Black America.' Yet, although they are only beginning, at best, their arc upward in national prominence, the group called Choose Black America expresses an opposition to illegal immigrants that is hardly unfamiliar in black barbershop and hair salon conversations that I have heard. They see President Bush's plan for amnesty and guest workers as 'a disaster for all Americans that will hit black citizens the hardest.'"

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