Political gains, but not power

              _
Political gains, but not power
Elected blacks find      TWO WORLDS
limits on influence
By KIMBERLY J. McLARIN
Staff Writer
Twenty years ago, Angeline and Samuel
C. Smith marched through the streets of
Greensboro with hundreds of other blacks
and whites, demanding access to the
American dream.
Today the Smiths no longer march. They
are retired, he from N.C. A&T State University and she from 30 years of teaching
at Dudley High School in Greensboro. Now
they work on causes such as the renovation
of the Hayes-Taylor YMCA and are involved in groups such as Greensboro Visions and the Jury Commission.
The Smiths look upon the political progress of American blacks from the vantage
point of 50 years of struggle. In many
ways, they say, things are much better
than they were 20 years ago.
In some ways, nothing has changed.
"It seems as if we take one step forward
and two steps backward," Angeline Smith
said in an interview. "Just when we think
we've achieved something, stumbling
blocks are put in the way. We were hoping
we would not have to go back to the
streets."
The Voting Rights Act of 1964 guaranteed blacks the right to participate in the
political system. But more than 20 years
later, blacks continue to fight for their
piece of the political pie.
The Joint Center for Political Studies in
Black
& White
Third of four parts
■ Children learn about racism — A12
■ Slow going for rural blacks  — A12
■ Hate groups active in state — A13
Washington reports that, as of January
1987, almost 6,700 of 491,000 elected officials nationwide were black. That's up
from about 500 before the Voting Rights
Act became law.
But blacks still hold only 1.5 percent of
elective offices, though they make up more
than 12 percent of the nation's population.
Ironically, most of the political gains
made by blacks in the past 20 years have
come in the South. More than 64 percent of
the nation's black elected officials hold office in the South, where only 53 percent of
the black population lives.
In a recent News & Record poll of more
than 500 Guilford County residents, re
spondents were asked whether they would
prefer voting for a black or white candidate. Most blacks (55 percent) and whites
(60 percent) would not choose, saying their
vote would depend on the circumstances.
Nonetheless, the percentage of blacks in
the population is not reflected in their percentage in elected office. In Guilford County, blacks make up about 25 percent of the
population and hold 18 percent of the seats
on elected governing boards.
Two of the 10 state legislators representing the county are black, as are two of
the nine members of the Greensboro City
Council. Katie Dorsett is the only black>on
the seven-member Guilford County Board
of Commissioners.
"Race always becomes the first factor,"
Dorsett said of elections. "It doesn't matter
about the political experience of the black
candidates. As a black candidate running in
an at-large system, it is next to impossible
to win because people first think about
race."
Greensboro has never elected a black
mayor, although one black generally was
elected to the City Council when all members were elected at-large. The council has
had two black members since 1982 when it
adopted a district system. The system has
five district seats and four at-large seats
including the mayor.
It took proponents of the district system
more than 14 years to supplant the at-large
election system. The district system was
adopted after the local NAACP filed an
objection with the U.S. Justice Depart
ment over a proposed city annexation. The
Justice Department blocked the annexation on the grounds that it would dilute
black voting strength in an at-large system.
Many blacks today still view opposition
to the district system as a direct attempt
to keep them from participating in the
political process.
"The city ward system was not created
out of the goodness of their hearts," said
Ken Alston, a long-time black Greensboro
(See Blacks, A12)
_