(The Root) — This morning on MSNBC's Morning Joe, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus, made an appearance to promote the Republican National Convention.
MSNBC host Chris Matthews was also on set.
This little exchange went down.
Twitter exploded. I screamed in my house. I realized that I hadn't seen anyone go directly at such a high-ranking official of the Republican Party. While the rest of the Morning Joe team sat by and tried to calm Matthews down, many of us at home felt a catharsis. Finally! Someone was bringing these issues to Priebus' face.
I've spoken numerous times on this blog about the blatant racialized language that's come from the GOP, but it often feels as if I'm screaming into the void. Until mainstream news media take up the battle over the language of the campaigns and their relation to people of color, it won't change. As problematic as Matthews has been in the past and probably will continue to be — on this day I raise my glass and toast the only person on that set who had the decency to speak up.
Cheers, Chris Matthews. And yes, I do drink at 8 o'clock in the morning. Have you been reading this blog? Things are crazy, son.
Elon James White is a writer and satirist and host of the award-winning video and radio series This Week in Blackness. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Tumblr.
Elon James White is a writer and satirist and host of the award-winning video and radio series This Week in Blackness. Listen Monday to Thursday at 1:30 p.m. EST at TWIB.FM and watch at TV.TWIB.ME/LIVE. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Tumblr.