Barack Obama is not the first black to seek the presidency, although he is arguably the first African American to bring a message that some view as transcending race when comparing him to the previous black contenders.
It was Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm of Brooklyn who first sought the presidency in 1972. Chisholm won 152 delegates on a liberal platform, which earned her an ethnically diverse support base. She would lose the Democratic nomination, however, to George McGovern. But he, too, was out of step with a country that was moving to the right. McGovern’s liberal message would ultimately clash with the conservative political climate sweeping the nation resulting in Richard Nixon winning the presidency in a landslide that November. » more
Rev. Jesse Jackson was next. He sought the Democratic nomination in both 1984 and 1988. Jackson surprised the electorate by finishing third in 1984 behind Vice President Walter Mondale and Sen. Gary Hart, and winning five primaries. In 1988, Jackson stunned skeptics even more when he won 11 primaries before losing to the eventual nominee, Michael Dukakis.
Jackson's improvement in 1988 is largely attributable to increased support from black voters; he was able to unify the black vote that was split in 1984 between himself and Mondale—earning 90% of the black vote in '88. "I found what I call the common ground issues that connect with people—the racial battle ground, the economic common ground, the moral higher ground," says Jackson of his ability to address the similar concerns of rural white farmers and blacks in urban centers in '88.
"In 1984 Mondale got a lot of black support from black leaders such as Joe Reed of the Alabama Democratic Conference," says David Bositis, a voting expert at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. "Mondale was closely associated with Hubert Humphrey, a favorite with African Americans," he adds. In 1988, Jackson also benefited in the primaries from a spike in overall black voter turnout along with an increase in white voter support as his unifying message attacked big business and drugs in the inner-city. » more
Nevertheless, some experts see black candidates such as Jackson and later the Rev. Al Sharpton, who ran in 2004, as the type of blacks who would never win the presidency. "Jesse Jackson was not trusted enough to represent white interests," says Ronald Walters, a University of Maryland political scientist who served as Jackson's 1984 deputy campaign manager. "He almost perfectly represented black interests, but that was a liability for him with the general electorate who put him in a box as a black activist and wouldn't let him out," argues Walters who is the author of Freedom is Not Enough: Black Voters, Black Candidates, and American Presidential Politics.
In the mid-90's talk swirled around that General Colin Powell, a Republican, might make a run for the White House. Powell was popular with voters because of his mainstream views and strong leadership skills. A mid-90's poll even gave him a lead over President Bill Clinton. Though Powell considered running in 1998, he ultimately declined citing personal reasons. » more
Now it's Obama's turn to make history and not without the help of all those mentioned above. Chisholm may have opened the door, but the political spotlight of those such as Jackson and Powell brought attention and credibility to all black candidates … showing both black and white Americans that they could address the needs of all races, classes and sexes. They, in turn, opened the door for more blacks to be elected to seats in the government and provided Obama with a message that has become a key component of his campaign.
