The oldest U.S. civil rights organization is considering a resolution condemning the so-called "Tea Party" movement for what it calls "explicitly racist behavior" by members of the conservative movement.
The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) will vote on the resolution at its annual national convention Tuesday in Kansas City, Missouri.
The resolution says "Tea Party" followers displayed signs and posters "intended to degrade people of color generally" and U.S. President Barack Obama, the first nation's first black president, specifically.
The statement gives as an example an incident earlier this year when "Tea Party" members allegedly yelled racial slurs at black members of Congress.
"Tea Party" leaders have denied charges of racism since the movement emerged last year. One conservative activist, Brendan Steinhauser, says the "Tea Party" has much in common with the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
President Obama's wife Michelle gave the keynote address at the NAACP convention Monday. She focused much of her speech on her "Let's Move" initiative that is aimed at combatting the increasing rates of childhood obesity.