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BLACK DELEGATES DWINDLING AT GOP CONVENTION: Current event has fewest African American representation in 40 years.
*One thing becomes glaringly apparent while scanning the floor of this week's Republican National Convention in Minneapolis/St. Paul. It's very white.
In fact, the 2008 GOP event has the lowest number of African American delegates since 1968, according to a convention guide released to delegates this week by the nonpartisan research institution, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
After seating a record number of African American delegates in 2004 (6.7 percent), blacks comprise only 1.5 percent of the total number of GOP delegates this year, according to the Joint Center, which focuses on minority issues. The 36 black delegates in 2008 represent a 78.4 percent decline from the 167 black delegates at the 2004 GOP convention.
According to the Hudson Valley Press, the Joint Center's guide recognized McCain's efforts to reach black voters, but concluded: "John McCain is very likely to receive a historically low share of the black vote." The publication said it is not attributable to any experiences Sen. McCain has had representing black constituents, but rather it is "a reflection of Sen. Obama's historic candidacy, the deep and genuine enthusiasm for him in the black community, and Sen. McCain's association with President Bush, an exceptionally unpopular figure among African Americans."
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