I think that after several centuries of slavery and post civil war economic enslavement  the black race has reason to distrust the white race. Affirmative action has not yet erased all of the "badges of slavery".

I have a hard time understanding why blacks are so distrustful of whites when it was whites who actually ended the practice of slavery in Western society.  One thing that has always puzzled me is the fact that Islam, a religion whose history of enslaving black Africans predates American slavery by hunderds of years (and which continues the practice even today), is embraced by so many blacks in the United States.  I also find it somewhat paradoxical, in light of Senator Obama's statements on race, that he has chosen to align himself with the Democrat party, the traditional "home" of racism.  Hardly anyone ever mentions or even knows that the Republican party was actually conceived by abolitionists.  In fact, it was Abraham Lincoln, our first Republican president, who freed the slaves while pro-slavery Democrats opposed him at every turn.

I am not pretentious enough to say that I understand the black experience, but I have gained some insight to it while working for voter registry in the southern states as a college student. At the time there were very creative gimmicks to deprive citizens of the constitutional right to vote...poll taxes...literacy tests, etc. The KKK was very vociferous at the time.

You are correct, Kevin.  Racism at one time was rampant throughout the south, thanks to the Democrats like J. William Fulbright, Ernest "Fritz" Hollings and Al Gore, Sr.  Let us also not forget Governor George Wallace (D-AL) standing in a schoolhouse door to keep "coloreds" from attending classes with whites.  Or the fact that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was filibustered for 14 hours by former Ku Klux Klansman Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), whose nickname among Senate colleagues is "Sheets". 40% of House Democrats opposed the bill, while 80% of Republicans supported it.

In my prior post I was actually trying to give Senator Obama the benefit of the doubt by putting his remarks into a larger context, but I appreciate your pointing out the blatant racism so typical of Democrats.

Regards,

Scott