Legislator says local NAACP head made threat
Tatem denies accusation by black Republican lawmaker
State Rep. Walter Blackman has accused the leader of a local NAACP chapter of threatening him following a dispute over his stance regarding Confederate monuments.
Blackman, the first African-American Republican elected to the Arizona House of Representatives, alleges he’s been verbally attacked by Roy Tatem, president of the East Valley chapter of the NAACP.
In a series of social-media posts Friday, Blackman asserted that Tatem approached him at the Capitol earlier this week and warned him to “watch his back.”
“This man is not only hypocritical but aggressive,” Blackman, of Snowflake, said in a press release posted on Facebook. “I hope that by providing new leadership, I can impact and influence other Black Republicans to get involved and not feel threatened by the NAACP mob.”
Tatem told The Arizona Republic that he never made any threats.
“I don’t believe that he’s being truthful,” Tatem said Saturday. “In no way, state, form or fashion did I threaten him ... I think it’s very disingenuous for him to try to position himself as a victim here.”
Tatem said the two men argued during an event for African-American leaders at the Capitol on Wednesday evening after Blackman said he doesn’t support removing Civil War monuments to Confederate troops.
“We exchanged words about that, but nothing was a threat,” Tatem said.
Blackman didn’t respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
Blackman has pointed to a Facebook post from Tatem, where he stated Blackman should be “taken to task” for voting along party lines. Blackman told the Yellow Sheet, a political-insider newsletter, that’s a coded threat.
He told Yellow Sheet the phrase hearkens to slave taskmasters who would beat a person to make them fall in line.
Blackman has reported the situation to law enforcement. A spokesman for the Arizona House said Speaker Rusty Bowers, R-Mesa, referred Blackman to the chamber’s liaison from the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
DPS didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
“My family and I are taking extra precautions because of the threats that were posted towards me,” Blackman wrote on Facebook. “I will not let these people intimidate me and I will continue to stand up for you, my district and America.”
Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward also blasted Tatem in a statement Friday.
“This type of rhetoric from the president of a local NAACP chapter is unacceptable and outrageous,” Ward said. “I have spoken with Rep. Blackman and assured him the Republican Party of Arizona has his back.”
Tatem has also criticized Blackman for not supporting Democrats’ push to immediately expel state Rep. David Stringer, R-Prescott, who’s come under fire for racist comments and revelations he pleaded to sex-crime charges in the 1980s.
Republicans argue Stringer’s behavior should be investigated by the House Ethics Committee first. Tatem said Blackman isn’t representing the interests of people of color by delaying the expulsion vote.
Last December, Tatem received hate mail that referred to him as a “gorilla” after he called for NACCP members to boycott Prescott over comments Stringer made regarding his view that “African-Americans and other racial groups don’t ... blend in.”
Tatem said the criticism from Ward and Blackman is a politically motivated attack to avoid talking about issues like Stringer’s behavior and Confederate monuments.
“This is the play that they want to play to elevate or excite their base,” he said.
“We exchanged words about that, but nothing was a threat.” Roy Tatem President, East Valley chapter, NAACP