Away From Obama’s Crowds, Racist Moments

Washington Post: Obama Campaigners Encounter Raw And Surprising Racism As They Push Democratic Frontrunner

(Washingtonpost.com)  This story was written by Kevin Merida.

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Danielle Ross was alone in an empty room at the Obama campaign headquarters in Kokomo, Ind., a cellphone in one hand, a voter call list in the other. She was stretched out on the carpeted floor wearing laceless sky-blue Converses, stories from the trail on her mind. It was the day before Indiana's primary, and she had just been chased by dogs while canvassing in a Kokomo suburb. But that was not the worst thing to occur since she postponed her sophomore year at Middle Tennessee State University, in part to hopscotch America stumping for Barack Obama.

Here's the worst: In Muncie, a factory town in the east-central part of Indiana, Ross and her cohorts were soliciting support for Obama at malls, on street corners and in a Wal-Mart parking lot, and they ran into "a horrible response," as Ross put it, a level of anti-black sentiment that none of them had anticipated.

"The first person I encountered was like, 'I'll never vote for a black person,' " recalled Ross, who is white and just turned 20. "People just weren't receptive."

For all the hope and excitement Obama's candidacy is generating, some of his field workers, phone-bank volunteers and campaign surrogates are encountering a raw racism and hostility that have gone largely unnoticed -- and unreported -- this election season. Doors have been slammed in their faces. They've been called racially derogatory names (including the white volunteers). And they've endured malicious rants and ugly stereotyping from people who can't fathom that the senator from Illinois could become the first African American president.

The contrast between the large, adoring crowds Obama draws at public events and the gritty street-level work to win votes is stark. The candidate is largely insulated from the mean-spiritedness that some of his foot soldiers deal with away from the media spotlight.

Victoria Switzer, a retired social studies teacher, was on phone-bank duty one night during the Pennsylvania primary campaign. One night was all she could take: "It wasn't pretty." She made 60 calls to prospective voters in Susquehanna County, her home county, which is 98 percent white. The responses were dispiriting. One caller, Switzer remembers, said he couldn't possibly vote for Obama and concluded: "Hang that darky from a tree!"

Documentary filmmaker Rory Kennedy, the daughter of the late Robert F. Kennedy, said she, too, came across "a lot of racism" when campaigning for Obama in Pennsylvania. One Pittsburgh union organizer told her he would not vote for Obama because he is black, and a white voter, she said, offered this frank reason for not backing Obama: "White people look out for white people, and black people look out for black people."

Obama campaign officials say such incidents are isolated, that the experience of most volunteers and staffers has been overwhelmingly positive.

The campaign released this statement in response to questions about encounters with racism: "After campaigning for 15 months in nearly all 50 states, Barack Obama and our entire campaign have been nothing but impressed and encouraged by the core decency, kindness, and generosity of Americans from all walks of life. The last year has only reinforced Senator Obama's view that this country is not as divided as our politics suggest."

Campaign field work can be an exercise in confronting the fears, anxieties and prejudices of voters. Veterans of the civil rights movement know what this feels like, as do those who have been involved in battles over busing, immigration or abortion. But through the Obama campaign, some young people are having their first experience joining a cause and meeting cruel reaction.

On Election Day in Kokomo, a group of black high school students were holding up Obama signs along U.S. 31, a major thoroughfare. As drivers cruised by, a number of them rolled down their windows and yelled out a common racial slur for African Americans, according to Obama campaign staffers.

Frederick Murrell, a black Kokomo High School senior, was not there but heard what happened. He was more disappointed than surprised. During his own canvassing for Obama, Murrell said, he had "a lot of doors slammed" in his face. But taunting teenagers on a busy commercial strip in broad daylight? "I was very shocked at first," Murrell said. "Then again, I wasn't, because we have a lot of racism here."

The bigotry has gone beyond words. In Vincennes, the Obama campaign office was vandalized at 2 a.m. on the eve of the primary, according to police. A large plate-glass window was smashed, an American flag stolen. Other windows were spray-painted with references to Obama's controversial former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and other political messages: "Hamas votes BHO" and "We don't cling to guns or religion. Goddamn Wright."

Ray McCormick was notified of the incident at about 2:45 a.m. A farmer and conservationist, McCormick had erected a giant billboard on a major highway on behalf of Farmers for Obama. He also was housing the Obama campaign worker manning the office. When McCormick arrived at the office, about two hours before he was due out of bed to plant corn, he grabbed his camera and wanted to alert the media. "I thought, this is a big deal." But he was told Obama campaign officials didn't want to make a big deal of the incident. McCormick took photos anyway and distributed some.

"The pictures represent what we are breaking through and overcoming," he said. As McCormick, who is white, sees it, Obama is succeeding despite these incidents. Later, there would be bomb threats to three Obama campaign offices in Indiana, including the one in Vincennes, according to campaign sources.

Obama has not spoken much about racism during this campaign. He has sought to emphasize connections among Americans rather than divisions. He shrugged off safety concerns that led to early Secret Service protection and has told black senior citizens who worry that racists will do him harm: Don't fret. Earlier in the campaign, a 68-year-old woman in Carson City, Nev., voiced concern that the country was not ready to elect an African American president.

"Will there be some folks who probably won't vote for me because I am black? Of course," Obama said, "just like there may be somebody who won't vote for Hillary because she's a woman or wouldn't vote for John Edwards because they don't like his accent. But the question is, 'Can we get a majority of the American people to give us a fair hearing?' "

[edroma]

This story is very suspicious. It sounds like a ploy of Barack supporters to create sympathy. I don%u2019t believe it is true, this is phony racism. The fact is that national polls show low level or racism with regard to voting for Barack.
The biggest problem that Barack has is his lack of experience and his relations to people who are clearly extremists. The fact that his chances of becoming president are very small does not imply that we are racists for not voting for him. We just don%u2019t like him because he is not qualified. People generally believe that both Hillary and McCain are qualified but Barack got a free pass until we found out more about him. Now his supporters are distorting reality to cover up the facts. STOP PHONY RACISM.

[chulanow]

The same type of racist/sexist attitude is being encountered by the Clinton volunteers.

During their canvassing and phone calls they are told things like....

I am not voting for that F....White B...

I am not voting for any White B.....

Sadly there are people with close minds everywhere.

[bud28dy]

What a bunch of cr*p. I don''t believe any of that. Some self-righteous little Obama jerks spread junk like this to deman a whole group of white folks and to make it look like Obama is fighting all these racists, when he''s far more white than most white people. Pretty soon they are going to be telling us they were dousing burning crosses in people''s yards.

[pepperwood2]

Posted by jboxton.... Did they really expect anything else? I mean (no racism involved) the guy DOES look like a monkey. There is no denying that whether you love him or hate him.

You''ll are talking about Gov. Rendell right? You got that right! Soooo Sad!

[fxy77]

I really wish America would just get over this color thing cause guess what color is only a color. For some reason "white america" (some not all)has taught hate from the very beginning and it has nothing to do with the person but, color of the skin. How pathetic to teach hate or to dislike someone simply because the color of their skin.Hate is such an ugly word,it destroys, tears down the spirit, and can ruin the beauty inside our hearts that makes us love. Please leave Obama alone, he''s a black man and well educated man is all.Think about this: We were all created by one creater,no one can give a love greater, He loves us all regardless of color then why can''t we accept one another, when the truth remains color is only a color.

[rowdytexan2]

Obama has helped people his whole life, what have you ever done?


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Posted by taddles at 11:42 AM : May 14, 2008

Ummm, actually, no he hasn''t. Maybe you can count his four years as a community organizer, but I doubt that, as the big project he worked on for asbestos removal was actually completed by the efforts of others.

As a civil rights attorney, in four years, he had 30 civil rights cases, period. Other than that he was working for slum development companies.

He was raised in wealth in Hawaii and went to elitest private schools.

Please show me exactly WHAT he has done for others?

[rowdytexan2]

Excellent point, but rest assured, taddles will be able to expain it away.


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Posted by BeStillandno at 01:23 PM : May 14, 2008

I''m sure he''ll try, but it''s kind of a no go.

[bestillandno]

Well, there''''s the FACT that he has William Said, and Debbie Seleeschle (sp?) both from Farrakhan''''s Nation of Islam on his campaign team rather tends to make your statement bull *****!

Posted by RowdyTexan2 at 01:14 PM : May 14, 2008




Excellent point, but rest assured, taddles will be able to expain it away.

[libra127]

Including Florida (but NOT Michigan), Obama is ahead in the Popular Vote by LESS THAN 1%. That''s 298,838 out of a total of 33,062,816 votes cast.

Hillary is ahead by 29,471 votes if Michigan is included.

These margins are really, really small. There are millions more people still to vote. There is absolutely no reason Hillary should leave the race before the voting is complete and/or someone has reached the required number of delegates.

[rowdytexan2]

Feel free to show me anything anywhere where Obama has said he supports Farakhan. And before you post it, the half page article in the TUCC church newsletter was not his words.

Posted by taddles at 11:29 AM : May 14, 2008

Well, there''s the FACT that he has William Said, and Debbie Seleeschle (sp?) both from Farrakhan''s Nation of Islam on his campaign team rather tends to make your statement bull *****!