Race And Politics Collide In Memphis

When Steve Cohen, a white man, was elected last year to represent mostly black Memphis in Congress, it was seen as a sign that racial divisions were fading in the city.

But less than a year later, Cohen is facing a movement led by black pastors and political activists to defeat him in 2008 and send a black representative to Washington instead.

Cohen is one of two white congressmen from majority black districts. The other is Robert Brady of Pennsylvania. But Cohen is alone in having followed a black representative.

In 2006, Cohen won a crowded Democratic primary when the black vote splintered. He got slightly more than 30 percent of the vote, while four black opponents shared almost 60 percent.

Some people say his election was a fluke. The 58-year-old Cohen says opposition to him is based on one thing: his race.

When it comes to race and voting in Memphis, "it's not as polarized as it used to be," said Marcus Pohlmann, a political scientist with Rhodes College in Memphis, "but we haven't completely turned the corner either."

Emotions around Cohen's abilities to represent his district have flared over the last week since Cohen spoke at a meeting of the Memphis Baptist Ministerial Association, a group of black ministers that has more than 400 members. Cohen wanted to address concerns that had been expressed by the black religious community over his support for a federal hate crimes bill that protects gays.

The meeting quickly turned adversarial, with some of the audience jeering and booing the freshman congressman with complaints that a white politician could not represent the concerns of a predominantly black district.

"He's not black, and he can't represent me. That's the bottom line," the Rev. Robert Poindexter told the Memphis Commercial Appeal after the meeting

Some of the black preachers were worried that the hate crimes bill could make them legally responsible if they preached against homosexuality and someone who heard the sermon went out and committed a hate crime. Some also regard homosexuality as a sinful choice and object to gays being grouped with blacks for legal protection.

Cohen said his predecessor, Harold Ford Jr., who is black, drew no such criticism when he supported similar hate-crime legislation. Ford left the House and ran unsuccessfully for the Senate last year.

In a phone interview with The Commercial Appeal, Cohen expressed his frustration with how events have played out.

"The whole situation in Memphis is beyond belief. I don't know if it's angst toward gays and lesbians, or a case of some being led astray by those with a political agenda," Cohen said. "My guess is that it's a little bit of both."

The hate crime legislation was passed by the House in May and now awaits a Senate vote. It has been endorsed by a number of civil rights organizations, including the NAACP, National Urban League and Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

The black preachers have several other grudges against Cohen: He was the primary force behind the creation of the lottery in Tennessee; he spoke out against a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage; and he complained about a reference to Jesus in a prayer before a state Senate session.

But the preachers have also questioned whether a white man should even represent the 9th District, which is 60 percent black and 34 percent white.

"I don't care how people dress it up," Poindexter said in his interview with the Commercial Appeal. "It always comes down to race, and he can't know what it's like to be black."

That opinion is not unanimous in Memphis, even among the ministers group. The Rev. O.C. Collins Jr. apologized for the way the group treated Cohen and disputed the notion that the district must be represented by a black person.

"If we're saying that, then what we're saying is that Barack Obama's candidacy is illegitimate," Collins said.

Collins invited Cohen to speak last week at his church, Bethlehem Missionary Baptist, where the congressman received a standing ovation.

Rev. Dwight Montgomery, the local head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a civil rights group once led by Martin Luther King Jr., also offered Cohen public support.

Speaking at the National Civil Rights Museum, built on the site of King's murder, Montgomery said, "Dr. King would not disqualify any person of reputable character from serving in an elected office. We support justice and equality for everyone, regardless of race, religion or political affiliation."