Houston, Texas
09 September 2008
The crowd at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota last week was described as a sea of white faces by some reporters. The number of African Americans in attendance was significantly down from the 2004 Republican convention. And most black voters this year are supporting Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama, who is the son of an African father and a white American mother. But VOA's Houston-based correspondent Greg Flakus, who attended last week's convention, says black Republicans are solidly behind their candidate - John McCain.
Gale Sayers, a black Republican from San Antonio, Texas, has strong views about Barack Obama.
"There are many reasons, one of the big ones would be his stance on abortion. He [says] it is above his pay grade to tell us when a baby or a person has human rights. That is really weird." he said.
John Colon of Florida, a leader of the National Black Republican Association, says he has little in common with Barack Obama other than skin color.
"If Barack Obama had a proven track record and shared my values, I would be looking to vote for him as well. But he does not. That is the main point. He does not share my values," he said.
Steele acknowledges the advantage Democrats have this year with blacks now that they have an African-American presidential candidate, but he says his party can compete for those votes in the years ahead.
"We have to get our act together sufficiently to be competitive and effectively engage the black vote, the Hispanic vote, the white vote, every vote in this country with a values message - an empowerment message, an ownership message that resonates with communities," he said.
How successful Republicans will be in their effort to attract blacks and other minorities to their cause may depend on how the November election plays out. Some prominent black conservatives have announced their support for Barack Obama and, analysts say, it will be difficult to counter what is viewed by many people of all races as an opportunity to heal old racial wounds and unite the nation.
Republican leaders say they remain committed to attracting more minorities to their fold. But many of them admit that this is probably not the year in which they will make much progress.