Democratic forum gives historic nod to blacks

By DeWayne Wickham

To be sure, this was a special time for African-Americans. It was a historic moment, the importance of which was lost on many among the small army of journalists who descended on Howard University last week to cover a gathering of the eight Democratic presidential contenders.

The All-American Presidential Forum was billed as the first time a panel made up completely of journalists of color — me, Michel Martin of National Public Radio and columnist Ruben Navarrette of The San Diego Union-Tribune — would question presidential candidates on prime-time TV.

But it was more than that. Thursday's nationally televised forum was the first time the Democratic Party has given black voters this much attention since 1976, when it convened the Caucus of Black Democrats in Charlotte. That meeting was an attempt to fend off the National Black Political Convention, a third-party movement that threatened to siphon black voters from the Democratic Party.

The Caucus of Black Democrats succeeded in preventing that defection. But in the years since, Democrats' hold on the black vote has often seemed to be an awkward embrace. "Democrats take us for granted," the Rev. Jesse Jackson told a small group of black columnists in August 2004. "Republicans take us for fools."

In persuading PBS to air the 90-minute forum and getting all of the announced candidates to show up, TV and radio show host Tavis Smiley got Democrats to treat more seriously the interests of black voters, the party's most loyal constituency. The forum forced Democratic hopefuls to take a public stand on some issues of great importance to blacks, long before voters select the party's nominee. That's historic. So, too, were the answers that some of the candidates gave to the questions put to them.

"If you're African-American, you're more likely to be charged with a crime. If you're charged with a crime, you're more likely to be convicted of the crime. If you're convicted of the crime, you're more likely to get a severe sentence. There is no question that our justice system is not color-blind," former senator John Edwards of North Carolina said when I asked whether this nation's scales of justice are out of balance.

When Martin asked what could be done about the high rate of HIV/AIDS infections among black teenagers, former senator Mike Gravel of Alaska used that opening to address an even bigger drug-related problem. "The scourge of our present society, particularly in the African-American community, is the war on drugs. … If they really want to do something about the inner cities, if they really want to do something about what's happening to the health of the African-American community, it's time to end this war," Gravel said. "All it does is create criminals out of people who are not criminals."

But the most forceful response came from Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, when she was asked about the United States' weak reaction to the genocide taking place in Sudan. She called for the creation and enforcement of a "no-fly zone" over Sudan that would prevent the government from bombing the villages of ethnic minorities in Darfur. "And we should make it very clear to the government in Khartoum we're putting up a no-fly zone, (and) if they fly into it, we will shoot down their planes," she said.

In pulling off this forum — the GOP debate is Sept. 27 — Smiley has become this nation's leading black impresario. Last year, he used his base on NPR and Tom Joyner's nationally syndicated radio show to propel his book, The Covenant With Black America, to the top spot on The New York Times' best-sellers list.

Last week, he moderated the presidential forum that will, no doubt, cause his star to rise higher — and put his name on the pages of history books.

DeWayne Wickham writes on Tuesdays for USA TODAY.