heir vote. They could divide up and align themselves along class lines or education, or some other factor, but they would be ineffective, I feel, as the United States has yet to provide total equality for any but the majority. Alliances along those lines would again leave blacks marginalized, and more than that, divided among themselves.The African-American community must do today what it failed to do in the 1930’s. It must follow the seventy-year-old advice of those such as A. Philip Randolph and Oscar DePriest as well as the advice of more recent analysts such as Katherine Tate and Ronald W. Walters. They prompt voting without regard as to what party one is voting for, but rather with concern as to what the candidate himself represents. African-Americans must come together and use their vote as a bargaining tool. They demonstrated its worth in the 1976 presidential election of Jimmy Cater, and most recently in the 1996 election of President Clinton. By separating themselves from any permanent affiliation with any party, African-Americans will force those parties to appeal to them as a group for their vote, and upon receiving it, that party will be more certain to produce results in policy and legislation favourable to the Black community. ...
