TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Democrats long used to getting heavy support from New Jersey's black voters are shutting blacks out from top political decisions and ignoring their concerns, activists charged.
Black church and community leaders said Democrats should not expect blacks to vote lockstep with party leaders, especially after the shake-up in the Senate race.
They said community leaders felt shut out of the party decision to replace Sen. Robert Torricelli, who resigned as a candidate after months of talk about his personal ethics.
Leaders also said they were troubled by McGreevey's demand that Amiri Baraka, who is black, resign as state poet laureate after some claimed a Sept. 11 memorial poem was offensive and anti-Semetic.
McGreevey and legislators have promised swift action on bills that would allow the governor to fire Baraka and cut him from his two-year, $10,000 appointment.
Sen. Ronald L. Rice, D-Essex, was one of several legislators who said he was disappointed that more black party leaders were not consulted about the legislation, or about the selection of a new U.S. Senate candidate last week.
"We don't want to be a bunch of placeholders," Rice said. "I'm a good Democrat but I also believe I've earned the right to disagree."
The Rev. Reginald Jackson, executive director of the Black Ministers Council, said party leaders want blacks to vote, but offer them no reasons to support them after the election ends.
"It's insulting, it's demeaning and believe it or not younger African Americans are not toeing that line," he said. "And I think those who are going to expect us to be there in the future are in for a rude awakening."
Gov. James E. McGreevey, a Democrat, refused to discuss issues involving the senate selection process and concerns raised by black voters on Tuesday.
Walter Fields, a Democratic political consultant, said blacks are being shut out because Democrats have determined they risk losing no political support in the black community if they exclude blacks from decisions.
Blacks now have no leverage as a voting group because they consistently support Democrats and give no sign of changing, Fields said.
That allows mostly white power brokers to assume support from black voters without offering anything, or helping blacks into positions where they can become statewide candidates, he said.
"You not only don't have a guy on the short list, you're not even in the room when the decision is going to be made," Fields said. "Then you're told to vote for this person just because you're a Democrat."
Dissent between black voters and Democrats in New Jersey mirrors similar disputes in other states that have been going on for decades, political scientists and analysts said.
"Is one of those underlying issues that often affect race relations in general," said David Bositis, a senior analyst at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington. "There are people and issues and decisions that involve African Americans and their leaders and there's often a white political leadership that doesn't take into consideration and consult with and listen to African Americans."
Roger Wilkins, a professor at George Mason University, said blacks who weren't consulted have a major complaint if the party is depending on black voters to save the Senate seat.
But black voters must realize what party leaders faced trying to replace Torricelli, who quit with five weeks to go, Wilkins said.
"They didn't want it to be ragged, they wanted to get Torricelli behind them and they wanted a name and a face that was credible," he said.
Not all black leaders are worried.
"I think it's at least a non-issue. It's an issue to divide the Democratic party and to bring some doubt among our black leadership," said the Rev. Stanley Justice, another member of the Black Ministers Council.
