Where is the Dream?
January 31, 2008
James Thindwa, In These Times
Since the war in Iraq began almost five years ago, Chicago has been the site of some of the most robust and raucous antiwar agitation in the country. But a persistent racial chasm undermines these efforts. Black participation in marches is depressingly low and the antiwar movement’s leadership is predominantly white.
A handful of progressive black politicians, clergy or community leaders show up at antiwar rallies to speak, but the black masses are conspicuously absent. The lack of black voices in the peace movement is particularly dissonant because the community overwhelmingly opposes the Iraq War. According to the Boston Globe, at the start of the war in 2003, only 19 percent of blacks supported it. Now an astounding 90 percent oppose this misadventure, according to a BET poll.
Race a Central Issue for Clinton, Obama in Georgia
January 31, 2008
Emma Schwartz, U.S. News & World Report
Georgia has long held a special place for the Clinton clan. In 1992 it was the first state where Bill Clinton clinched a primary victory. But when the polls open here on Super Tuesday, Hillary Clinton may find it difficult to repeat her husband’s performance because of the growing popularity of one man: Barack Obama.
Georgia has an open primary and holds the sixth-largest number of delegates (103 for the Democrats) on February 5—and both front-runners are fighting hard for them. They’ve visited the state multiple times, campaigning and fundraising.
Yet the fiercest contest among Democrats in Georgia is for blacks, who represent nearly half of Democratic primary voters. Though Obama has tried not to make his candidacy about race, blacks have been a pivotal factor in his surge across the South, particularly in his victory in South Carolina. The demographic is expected to help him across Georgia as well, political analysts say.
PowerPac Machine Seeks to Mobilize Black Voters
January 31, 2008
Hazel Trice Edney, NNPA Editor-in-Chief
In one of the most historical political election seasons, organizers of African-American voters across the nation – still starkly divided between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton – are now working to mobilize Black voters to vote in primaries, regardless of who they support.
“We are blending the best parts of traditional civil rights get-out-to-vote operations with newer technology,” says Kirk Clay, organizer for PowerPAC, a non-profit social justice advocacy group, which is organizing get out to vote (GOTV) rallies and pit stops in states around the country. “When you’re dealing in the primary election, you’re looking for those pockets of places where African-Americans are more prone to turn out and vote in higher numbers,” Clay says.
The AP looks at Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation
January 31, 2008
Kilpatrick reports to work after public apology
January 31, 2008
Bill McGraw, Detroit Free Press
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick reported for work at City Hall Thursday, the morning after his televised apology. Speaking about the text message scandal for the first time publicly Wednesday, Kilpatrick apologized repeatedly to residents, supporters, opponents, his wife and his three sons for what he called “the embarrassment and disappointment” of the past few days.
Kilpatrick spokesman James Canning said the mayor’s agenda for the day is “meetings, meetings, meetings.”
Canning said the meetings would be with staff and businesspeople. Canning declined to say what businesspeople with whom the mayor planned to meet.
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