Rep. Andre Carson sticks to accusations against some Tea Party members of Congress

A member of the Congressional Black Caucus who accused some congressional members of the Tea Party of wanting to lynch some African Americans said he was not talking about all members of Congress affiliated with the movement--just some.

Rep. Andre Carson said earlier this month that some Tea Party-backed members of Congress would love to see African Americans "hanging on a tree" and accused their movement of using Jim Crow tactics to stop economic progress, particularly among minorities.

Jim Crow was the name of two-tier system of state and local laws segregating blacks in the United States that was in place from the late 19th century until the mid-1960s.

"Well, I wasn't talking about the entire Tea Party. I think the Tea Party is absolutely right when they call for increased transparency in government, when they call for a cutback on excessive government spending," Carson told CNN in Los Angeles Wednesday.

"I am deeply concerned about some elements of the Tea Party who are extremist and who have reflected a mentality going back to the John Birch society, going back to George Wallace's Dixiecrats," said Carson, an Indiana Democrat.

At an Aug. 22 event in Miami, during a CBC jobs tour, Carson said "some of them in Congress right now with this Tea Party movement would love to see you and me... hanging on a tree."

A video of Carson's remarks and other clips from CBC events was posted online this week by The Blaze, a website founded by conservative personality and former Fox New host Glenn Beck.

The lone black member of the Tea Party Caucus and the only Republican in the Congressional Black Caucus, Rep. Allen West, said he is considering withdrawing his membership in the CBC if Carson's initial remarks are not condemned by the group.

"Otherwise, I will have to seriously reconsider my membership within the organization," the Florida Republican wrote in a letter to Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, who heads the CBC.