Will there ever be a black president of the U.S.? History has shown that it has been difficult for an African American to even come near to attaining the highest position in The United States.
However, things could be changing.
Reverend Al Sharpton, a New York-based activist, is hoping to make that change. In a public statement released last August, Sharpton announced that he was considering seeking the nomination of the Democratic Party for the 2004 presidential race. He said that progressive leadership is in a deep crisis at the moment in the Democratic party and outside.
“I don’t expect Sharpton to put together a national coalition,” said Dr. Bill Hixon, assistant professor of political science at The University of Memphis.
For now, Sharpton says he’s testing the feasibility of a run, setting up a Presidential Exploratory Committee — rumored to be headed by Harvard professor and public intellectual Cornel West.
Sharpton first came to wide public attention in 1984. Since that time, the quick-witted and publicity-savvy Sharpton has become a major political and social force in New York, protesting budget costs, crusading against crack houses and speaking out against police brutality and misconduct.
This would not be Sharpton’s first political campaign. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in New York in 1994 and for mayor of New York City in 1997. And this isn’t the first time an African American has attempted to run for president. Rev. Jesse Jackson ran for president in the ‘80s but failed to win the Democratic nomination.
“Rev. Jesse Jackson has been the most visible black person to run, but he lost in the primaries,” Hixon said. “One would hope that we have gotten to the point where race isn’t a factor, but it would be naive to say that we’re there.”
So the question still remains: Will there ever be a black president?
“It’s conceivable,” said Dr. David Mason, chairman of the political science department at The U of M. “Among current leaders, (Secretary of State) Colin Powell has a better chance, because he appeals to the conservative and liberal.”
In a recent Gallup poll, only 2 percent of Americans that voted would be most likely to support Sharpton for the Democratic nomination for president in the year 2004. Twenty-nine percent would vote for Al Gore and 14 percent would vote for Hillary Clinton.
While Sharpton’s chances to win the Democratic Party nominations are undeniably slim, few doubt that a Sharpton candidacy would have impact. And nothing is impossible — who would have thought that a former professional wrestler could become governor of a major state before Jesse Ventura moved into the Minnesota governor’s mansion?
For his part, Sharpton says he has as much of a chance as anyone else to win the Democratic Party nomination.
