In a Bible study my wife and I attended, we had a white couple from South Africa that had become naturalized and a black couple originally from Oklahoma. In a discussion with the black couple over dinner one night I made the comment that the only African Americans I know were the white couple from SA. They looked perplexed, thought about it for a minute, and then laughed hysterically once they got it. I then explained them how absurd it really was to subdivide our nationality by race. In the end, they agreed with me that we should all just be American and that such labels really only serve to divide us. But then a few months later they still went ahead and voted for Obama because, you know, history.
To many conservative black citizens, Obama still represents something special.....the first black POTUS. Yes, he is from the wrong political party, but he has that title, regardless.
Kennedy was special to Catholics for the same reason, even if you disagreed with his politics.
We need to understand these things because it bridges the gap with black citizens and allows us to have a conversation that may lead to conversion.