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Change comes to Congressional Black CaucusBy Jeanne Meserve/CNN
September 20, 1999 WASHiNGTON -- The African-American community was once regarded as a monolithic bloc, but a by-product of educational opportunity and economic advancement has been the growth of political diversity. The Congressional Black Caucus is increasingly reflecting that fact. Take Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-Tennessee), a second-term congressman who is contemplating a run for the U.S. Senate.
"I approach things with an open mind. I bring a youthful energy to it," he said. Ford defines himself politically as a blue-dog Democrat, not a stereotypical black liberal. His father represented his district before Ford was elected in 1996 and Ford is part of a politically prominent Memphis family. "I don't run from the fact that I'm African-American but by the same token, I was elected to Congress to represent all the folks in my district," Ford said. Ford and other moderate young African-American members of the House are transforming the traditionally and reliably liberal Congressional Black Caucus.
"They look at a different world," said Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia), a civil rights pioneer. "They look at an integrated world where many of the older members had to struggle, had to break down the barriers of discrimination, the barriers of race." Lewis and others of his generation broke down those barriers with the equivalent of a political hammer. But the progress made by Lewis and others has given the new generation a different set of tools. "We've been given a screw driver, a few of them actually, and a few saws and a wrench. And instead of having to use the hammer when the task might call for a screwdriver, we now have the opportunity to use the screwdriver," Ford said. Do differences in tone and tactics among its members weaken the caucus? Not on matters of central importance, say its members.
"On the fundamental issues of equality, civil rights, civil liberties and caring for the disadvantaged, there is an unanimous agreement," said Rep. Eva Clayton (D-North Carolina), who chairs the caucus. The caucus will continue to press for equality and opportunity, including the opportunity, perhaps, to run as a moderate for the Senate in a predominantly white southern state. "If you guys are ever in Memphis, my last name is Ford ... look me up," Ford recently told voters on the campaign trail in Tennessee. |
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MORE STORIES:Monday, September 20, 1999
• Change comes to Congressional Black Caucus • Justice to provide only limited testimony at FALN hearing •White House responds on subpoena dispute • Analysis: GOP congressional leaders hold fort, wait for Bush • Hill leaders want to restore money for F-22 fighter • Buchanan says his writings about World War II misinterpreted • Justice Ginsburg recovering from cancer surgery • Bradley, Gore deadlocked in second New York poll • Vietnam protest trial spawned circus in courtroom, chaos in streets | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
