Understanding electoral trends
White voters are gravitating toward the Republican party while Democrats are picking up more black and Hispanic votes, according to a political science professor from Atlanta who will give a public talk on 2008 election trends at UNCG tomorrow.
"You can’t understand these electoral trends without looking at numbers," said Alan Abramowitz, the Alben W. Barkley Professor of Political Science at Emory University.
His lecture is 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Weatherspoon Art Gallery Auditorium at UNCG. The event is free and open to the public.
"Forty percent of (Barack) Obama's vote cane from non-whites, with 24 percent from African-Americans and 16 percent from Hispanics," Abramowitz said, comparing that to Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain. "Ninety percent McCain's votes came from whites."
He'll also look at regional differences in the voting across the nation based on the vote levels in regions and among age groups.
"I’m going to be talking about the components of the Democratic surge in 2008 and in the presidential election," he said. "It was obviously a substantial Democratic surge and uneven across demographic groups; and uneven geographically, you see, among age and race."
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Congratulations to Gov. Perdue:
As proposed in a guest commentary that appeared in Sunday's edition of THE DURHAM HERALD-SUN, I request that Govenor-elect Perdue and the 2009-12 Council of State demonstrate leadership by conducting a open and frank dialogue that is long overdue in North Carolina.
Eddie Davis
(919) 810-5012
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LET'S HAVE A BOLD DIALOGUE ON RACE IN NORTH CAROLINA
By Eddie Davis : Guest columnist
The Durham Herald-Sun
Sunday, November 16, 2008
It is regrettable that, like Barack Obama's grandmother, the writer Studs Terkel died shortly before November 4. I believe that the nonagenarian Terkel, who lived in Chicago, must have been elated to see the multi-racial campaign across America that led to the election of our 44th President.
As many residents of Durham are aware, Terkel's seminal book Race: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel about the American Obsession includes a chapter on the unlikely friendship that developed between C.P. Ellis, Ann Atwater and Howard Clement. The bond that grew across racial lines allowed a former KKK leader, a civil rights leader, a business/political leader, and many others to understand the commonalities of their struggles and aspirations.
Terkel's chapter, "Occurrence in Durham," inspired Osha Gray Davidson's book The Best of Enemies, which focused on Atwater and Ellis. This book served as the basis of Diane Bloom's documentary film An Unlikely Friendship.
Many people in America and around the world have had the opportunity to look at us through the lens of these books and film.
As North Carolina enters a new era with its first female governor, with shifting political alignments and with the changing of traditions due to geographic and ethnic migrations, perhaps The Old North State is prepared to take advantage of the opportunity to engage in an open and honest dialogue about race and the future of our state.
In the past, there have been any number of conferences, academic discussions and practical programs on economics, education, growth, environment, energy, taxation and other subjects that relate to the future of North Carolina and America. However, because of the sensitivity, the history and the anticipated emotions over advantages and disadvantages that stem from past inequalities, we have allowed our muted conversations to be voiced in confined and mostly segregated quarters.
If our state is to be the champion of all of its citizens, then let's be bold enough to campaign for a statewide dialogue on race and our future. Let's do it with the same vigor that victorious state politicians sought and enjoyed votes across racial lines.
In fact, would it not be wonderful if the elected leaders of the new administration were to personally guide the state in an effort to place North Carolina in the forefront of racial inclusion during the calendar year of 2010? The film, An Unlikely Friendship could be the springboard for the community discussions that could be held in public libraries, schools, and houses of faith. A statewide reading of The Best of Enemies also could be promoted by institutions, organizations and civic groups.
The entire year of 2009 could be used to plan, develop, and organize for this series of statewide discussions, roundtables, and town hall meetings. Input from agencies, universities, and grassroots organizations should be sought and valued.
This proposal could be the bold venture that would put North Carolina at the "head of the class" in almost all aspects of the public life of the state. Also, this venture has the potential to advance our state across the traditional barriers that have divided our citizens.
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Eddie Davis is a retired public school teacher and education organization specialist who lives in Durham.
© 2008 by The Durham Herald Company. All rights reserved.
Posted on November 18, 2008 6:41 PM