The leading African American member of Congress said Sen. Barack Obama’s election holds the potential to immediately change the way Americans think about race.
“Overnight that will say to every black child, every brown brown child that this country has the ability to get beyond race,” said U.S. Rep. James Clyburn, D-South Carolina.
Clyburn addressed the congregation of the Shorter Community African Methodist Episcopal Church Sunday morning, speaking about how his own faith informed his commitment to public service.
The House majority whip and third ranking member of House of Representatives, Clyburn spoke about growing up the son of a preacher in Sumter, S.C.
As comfortable at the pulpit as he is on the stump, Clyburn largely steered clear of politics during his remarks, but following the service addressed what he thought were overblown stories about a rift between supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton and those of Obama.
“I was with a group of Clinton people last night and they are fully on board with our candidate. Are there a few who are still upset? Sure. But some people take longer to get over disappointment than others,” Clyburn said.
The Clintons have historically enjoyed tremendous support from within the African American community, but some of those ties became strained over the course of a long primary election season.
The South Carolina Congressman also said Obama could have difficulty pulling out victories over Sen. John McCain both in his state and Georgia, but believes other Republican strongholds like North Carolina, Virginia and Florida are in play.
