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Black Power(less)
That Kerry could get away with so little before the NAACP -- essentially offering no substantial policy initiatives that would benefit African-Americans -- underscores the grim reality that 50 years after Brown v. the Board of Education , effective black politics in America has utterly bottomed out. No real agenda drives politics beyond having the Democratic candidate show up. One is hard-pressed to hear most blacks voice any enthusiasm for Kerry the way they did when Bill Clinton ran in 1992. "There's no message, no organizing aimed at black people," says Kevin Gray, a former organizer in Jesse Jackson's two presidential campaigns and Senator Tom Harkin's former Southern coordinator. "It's not like Kerry stands for anything; black people are voting against Bush" but not for Kerry. [more]
- Poll: Blacks Favor Kerry, 8 to 1 [more]