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(Dallas, Texas) Prominent black leaders said
they will work to combat Christian conservatives they say have used gay marriage
and abortion to distract from larger moral issues such as the war, voting
rights, affirmative action and poverty.
The Revs. Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Joseph
Lowery and hundreds of black leaders from around the country are focusing on
mobilizing black voters for the fall elections. They kicked off a three-day
black clergy conference Monday in Dallas.
"There are no gay people coming to our
churches asking to get married," Sharpton said. "But there are plenty
of people coming with problems voting or their sons in jail."
Sharpton said tours are planned of swing states
starting in July to bring out black voters and push Democrats to take a tougher
stand on social justice issues.
Jackson said the mid-term elections, which will
determine hundreds of congressional seats and many governorships, are a
"fight for America's soul."
If Democrats fail to address social concerns,
Sharpton said he has not ruled out a run for president in 2008.
A spokesman for evangelical conservatives accused
Sharpton of stereotyping Christian conservatives, many of whom agree with black
churchgoers on key issues.
"Let's not play off each other in ways that
are based on stereotypes," said the Rev. Richard Cizik of the National
Association of Evangelicals, which includes many conservative churches.
A spokeswoman for the Democratic National
Committee said Democrats are not taking black voters for granted. The committee
has been hiring black organizers, meeting with black leaders and speaking out on
issues that concern black voters, she said.
©365Gay.com 2006
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