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For Black Delegates, The Moment Is At Hand

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By WILLIAM MARCH and BILLY HOUSE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 26, 2008

DENVER - Florida state Rep. Geraldine Thompson of Orlando was born in 1948 in New Orleans, and her birth certificate, she said, is labeled "colored."

She went through public schools in Florida, and her school records bear the designation "negro."

"Those titles," she said, "all carried limitations.

"What Barack Obama means to me and many others is, those limitations are gone."

Thompson is one of a record number of black delegates - 1,079, or 24 percent of the 4,440 delegates - at the Democratic National Convention, a convention that will nominate the nation's first major-party black presidential candidate.

It's hard to overstate what that moment means for the black people here, and many others.

Film director Spike Lee, attending the convention "to observe this historic moment," called it "not just American history, world history."

For Thompson, "It will speak volumes to my children and grandchildren to see somebody who looks like them as president of the United States."

A common refrain among black conventiongoers was echoed by Preston Marshall Jr. of Miami.

"I didn't predict it would happen in my lifetime," said Marshall, 72. "I thought maybe another 25 years. I'm glad I lived to see it."

The large number of black faces here in Denver is one sign of the excitement for black Americans over Obama's ascension from a little-known Illinois senator to a legitimate contender for the presidency.

Those blacks who witnessed the civil rights era of the 1960s invariably compare it to what they lived through.

"I've come from lunch-counter demonstrations, when we fought just to have a soda at the lunchroom counter," said Rep. Joyce Cusack of DeLand, 66. She added the common observation: "I never dreamed in my lifetime this would be possible."

Thompson said she thought of NAACP activist Harry T. Moore of Mims, murdered along with his wife in their home in 1951 - the nation's first civil rights martyr. Obama's candidacy breaks down some of the same barriers Moore and other civil rights heroes broke down, she said.

"This is one of the last barriers," she said.

Breaking Down Stereotypes

Even for those too young to have witnessed that era, the moment is resonant.

Cedric McMinn, 30, of Miami, who works in government relations for a law firm, is attending as a page. It was the only way he could attend, and he was determined not to miss it, he said.

He ran twice for delegate spots, and when he didn't win, "I just called everyone I could call to find out if I could be part of the convention," he said. "I called my legislators, I called everyone I knew in the Obama campaign, pleading with them to be a part of it."

"Oh, man, it's going to break down so many barriers and so many stigmas," he said when asked what Obama's candidacy means to him. "It's the highest office in the land. This means we can accomplish anything."

McMinn said the Obama candidacy will show young black people there are options other than, "You go to jail, you're in the grave, or you're in sports or music. We're not just the people on TV robbing people or dealing drugs, or maybe shooting a basketball."

When Obama's candidacy began, black Americans initially couldn't believe it would be what many of them had hoped for, said David Bositis, a researcher for the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a think tank on race.

"Initially, there was a tremendous amount of skepticism," Bositis said. "But when he won in Iowa, when it became clear he was a serious candidate who actually could become the nominee, African-Americans just totally and completely moved to support his candidacy."

Bositis said he expects to see a record share of the black vote and a record turnout of black voters for Obama, beating the 94 percent share of the black vote that Lyndon Johnson won against Barry Goldwater in 1964.

He said he also expects an unusually high black turnout in November, based on analysis by the Joint Center that indicates black turnout roughly doubled in this year's Democratic primaries compared with the 2004 primaries.

Black voters, he said, "were motivated about Obama versus Hillary Clinton, and they will be even more motivated about Obama versus John McCain."

Few Blacks Flock To McCain

Although Obama has inspired increased black participation in Democratic politics, McCain has comparatively few lines into the black community, particularly compared with President Bush, Bositis said.

Bush, Bositis said, cultivated black advisers and allies, most prominently Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell.

In 2004, there were 167 black delegates to the Republican National Convention. This year, he said, his organization has identified only 36, or less than 2 percent - "the lowest level since Barry Goldwater."

Obama, according to conventional political wisdom, is hoping for an unusual turnout among groups of voters, particularly young and black people, who don't normally vote in large numbers.

If that fails to materialize, he could lose a race that appears very tight in national polls.

What if that happens?

"We'll take a setback of 40 or 50 years," McMinn said. "He has the right running mate, the right financial support, the right political situation. The only way he'll lose is a swell of racist attitudes in the country."

Reporter William March can be reached at (813) 259-7761 or wmarch@tampatrib.com. Keyword: Election 2008, to follow the convention through blogs by Tribune reporters and Tampa area convention-goers.

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