As chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus Political Education and Leadership Institute, I feel compelled to set the record straight on certain misleading statements and misperceptions noted in The Hill's April 25 article, "CBC is split over quitting debate on Fox." This article stated, "Members of the CBC are pushing their leadership to withdraw from an agreement with Fox News to sponsor a Democratic presidential primary debate on Sept. 23 in Detroit." This statement is inaccurate in that there is no agreement between the CBC members and Fox News. The CBC institute plans, sponsors and manages these debates. The institute has not been approached by any member of the CBC requesting it to withdraw from the debates on Fox. [...] The article noted there were liberal activist groups objecting to a Fox News telecast of the debates, citing Fox's conservative bias as their primary concern. We understand their position and are sympathetic to their concerns. Our response to that concern is that, as the debate sponsor, the CBC institute will control, and be responsible for all critical decisions pertaining to the debate format, including the journalists invited to serve as moderators, the panel of questioners and other pertinent matters (for example, the airing of commercials during the broadcast).

Thompson describes resistance as coming "liberal activist groups" concerned primarily about Fox's "conservative bias." What he doesn't mention is that across the country, Black community newspapers, columnists, radio hosts, and bloggers have expressed outrage that the CBC appears to be--as one CBC member put it--"getting in bed with a racist network." While Thompson insists that the CBC institute will have control over the debate format, he avoids addressing the real issue: that a Fox-CBCI partnership will use the brand of the CBC--perhaps the most prominent and powerful Black political institution in America--to legitimize a TV network that is thoroughly and actively hostile to the interests of Black Americans.