Obama, Clinton Speak At Black Churches

Barack Obama spoke Sunday at the church once pastored by Martin Luther King Jr., matching the soaring chords of the choir with an inspirational speech that was part sermon, part call to action...

...Clinton, too, spoke at a black church today, the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem.

There are very few white public officials who have had a longer period of dedication to racial justice than the Clintons,'' said Clarence B. Jones, King's former speechwriter, who has not endorsed either candidate.

...As the first black presidential candidate to win broad support among both blacks and whites, Obama, 46, has the support of most of the civil rights activists who worked with King. They view him as the embodiment of King's vision of a society in which race counts less than character...

...At the same time, though, the Illinois senator's candidacy has exposed rifts in the civil-rights establishment.

While veterans of the SCLC such as such as C.T. Vivian, Wyatt Tee Walker, Dorothy Cotton and Jesse Jackson are backing Obama, others, including Georgia Representative John Lewis and former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, continue to support his rival for the Democratic nomination, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York.

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