Posted on 12/04/2007 2:57:22 PM PST by LdSentinal
CHARLESTON, S.C. - U.S. Sen. Barack Obama picked up the endorsement of almost 130 black South Carolina ministers Tuesday in this early voting state where he runs even with rival Hillary Rodham Clinton for the crucial black vote.
Noted leaders of the civil rights movement including the Rev. Joseph Lowery and the Rev. C.T. Vivian, a close adviser of Martin Luther King Jr., attended the announcement.
The endorsements for the Illinois senator came a week to the day after Clinton, senator from New York and former first lady, visited upstate South Carolina where she announced the endorsements of 88 black ministers.
"We believe Barack Obama will not use his religion as a crutch or a hammer, but will draw on the moral imperatives of our faith and apply them to the political, social and economic problems of our country," said Lowery, founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
A poll this week by The Associated Press and the nonpartisan Pew Research Center found Clinton and Obama even in support from black voters, which comprise about half of the Democratic primary voters in South Carolina.
The poll, though, showed Clinton with a comfortable overall lead in the state _ 45 percent to 31 percent over Obama. The South Carolina Democratic primary is Jan. 26.
Vivian said Obama is not just a political leader.
"Here we have a man who brings together the political and the spiritual in a very active way," he told about 50 people gathered outside the Avery Institute, which documents and preserves the history of blacks in Charleston and the South Carolina Lowcountry.
Later, Lowery told reporters that endorsements by the clergy are important among black voters
"I think it will carry tremendous weight by the people who respect their leadership," he said. "The black church has been the centerpiece of black activism."
Lowery said many blacks feel an allegiance to former President Bill Clinton which has carried over to Hillary Clinton.
"But I think as black folks come closer to the election, they will realize this country needs unifying," Lowery said. "Obama is a unifying force. We're not against anybody, we're for a man we think brings a healing this nation needs."
Kay Colleton, the pastor of the Manna Life Center in Charleston, said she is not sure what impact the endorsements may have.
"It's kind of hard to tell where people are going to lean when we come to that time," she said.
If they all had their own church, that would probably be tax-exempt, so the town would get a lot bigger and relatively poorer. Maybe a bumper sticker is just the right size for the congregation.
I just sent an email to the SCLC with a link to the trailer and an offer to send Dr. Lowery a DVD of HILLARY! UNCENSORED. Just trying to help.
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