Chelsea L. McGowan
cmcgowan@weatherforddemocrat.com
During election season, endorsements become the currency of the realm. And while he was unable to speak for every member of his organization, the president of Parker County’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was quick to describe Barack Obama’s candidacy as historic for African-Americans.
“This is a new paradigm, uncharted waters,” said Jeff Brazzell, after he placed his vote for Obama. “A person would be silly to say we hadn’t hoped for a moment like this. For some people, this is long overdue in these United States.”
Much time has been spent speculating how much Obama’s ethnicity has been a factor in the presidential race.
Brazzell said he believes the effect of lingering racism has been considerable.
“Without a doubt, a lot of the backlash against Obama has been due to his race,” Brazzell said. “I don’t care how educated the man is, or how few skeletons there are to be found in his closet — there are some people in this world who feel his candidacy should never have happened [based on race].”
While national news outlets are predicting a record turnout among African-American voters, the chair of the local Democratic Party said she hasn’t witnessed a great increase in African-American voters in Parker County.
“The influx that we’ve had, that I’ve noticed, has been from young people,” Deb Cascino said. “I have not noticed an influx of African-Americans. This is beyond race. There’s a lot of people who are Democrats who have been in the party for many years, and they are now more active. But I don’t think we’ve had a huge increase in new African-American voters.”
The NAACP has long been dedicated to what Brazzell calls “voter empowerment.”
He said he believes the candidacy of an African-American has energized the community beyond anything he’s seen in the past.
“It goes without saying that the African-American community is energized about Barack Obama’s candidacy,” Brazzell said. “But I really think it goes beyond his race. He is who we consider to be the best man for the job.”
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