Black Leaders Kick
Off Clergy Conference
By AP from the
NYTimes on the Web, June 27, 2006
DALLAS -- Prominent black
leaders said they will work to combat Christian conservatives they say have used
gay marriage and abortion to distract from larger moral issues such as the war,
voting rights, affirmative action and poverty.
The Revs. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Joseph Lowery and hundreds of black
leaders from around the country are focusing on mobilizing black voters for the
fall elections. They kicked off a three-day black clergy conference Monday
in Dallas.
''There are no gay people coming to our churches asking to get married,''
Sharpton said. ''But there are plenty of people coming with problems
voting or their sons in jail.''
Sharpton said tours are planned of swing states starting in July to bring out
black voters and push Democrats to take a tougher stand on social justice
issues.
Jackson said the mid-term elections, which will determine hundreds of
congressional seats and many governorships, are a ''fight for America's soul.''
If Democrats fail to address social concerns, Sharpton said he has not ruled out
a run for president in 2008.
A spokesman for evangelical conservatives accused Sharpton of stereotyping
Christian conservatives, many of whom agree with black churchgoers on key
issues.
''Let's not play off each other in ways that are based on stereotypes,'' said
the Rev. Richard Cizik of the National Association of Evangelicals, which
includes many conservative churches.
A spokeswoman for the Democratic National Committee said Democrats are not
taking black voters for granted. The committee has been hiring black
organizers, meeting with black leaders and speaking out on issues that concern
black voters, she said.
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