Norman, who began selling the shirts in late April, has said they are not meant to be racist. He said he thinks the Illinois senator and the character "look so much alike."
Bill Nigut, southeast regional director for the Anti-Defamation League, said Norman is being disingenuous.
"He can pretend he doesn't understand what the message of that T-shirt is, but he knows full well that's an offensive and demeaning stereotype used to insult African-Americans," Nigut said. He called on citizens not to buy the T-shirts, but stopped short of calling for a boycott of Norman's business or denying him to speak out.
"His speech is protected, but that doesn't mean that it's appropriate and that doesn't mean it's not hateful," Nigut said.
I think that guy knew exactly what he was doing.
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