Blacks in Tennessee congressional district say only a black can represent them

Tim W. writes:

With all the talk about Obama, I thought you might find this congressional race here in Tennessee interesting. It’s in the ninth district, which is within the city of Memphis and has a black majority. For over thirty years it was represented by a black. But in 2006 Harold Ford Jr. gave up the seat to run for the U.S. Senate (he lost), and the seat went to white Democrat Steve Cohen in something of a fluke. There were so many black candidates seeking to replace Ford that they split the black vote, and Cohen won the Democratic primary (which in this district is the same as winning the election).

From the moment Cohen took office, blacks began griping that no white man should hold the seat. They were subtle at first, with some black ministers denouncing him for voting for a hate crimes bill that included homosexuals as a protected class. However, every single member of the Congressional Black Caucus voted for the same bill and none were denounced by the black ministers in their districts. Eventually, the blacks in the district came right out and said that no white man could be permitted to represent them. Since Cohen is Jewish, he’s also incurred the wrath of the anti-Semitic element in the black community.

The primary is in August, and Cohen will be facing several blacks again, which could help him if the black vote splits. But black leaders seem to be coalescing around one candidate, who has refused to denounce the anti-Semitic flyers distributed against Cohen. Cohen is a flaming liberal who seems shocked by the racial and religious hostility to him. It’ll be interesting to see how this race turns out in August.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at March 25, 2008 11:40 PM | Send