Black Clergy of Phila. endorses Obama
The Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity Inc. announced yesterday that its membership has voted unanimously to endorse U.S. Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity Inc. announced yesterday that its membership has voted unanimously to endorse U.S. Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The 200-member pastors' organization is "solidly behind Sen. Obama," said the Rev. Ellis I. Washington, president of Black Clergy and pastor of St. Matthew A.M.E. Church in North Philadelphia.
Washington, who announced the result of Wednesday's vote at a news conference yesterday, said the members were impressed by the Illinois senator's "leadership and character," his service as a community organizer in Chicago, his early opposition to the war in Iraq, and his "ability to galvanize a broad base, crossing many barriers, including racial."
The organization's closed-door vote did not include all its members, Washington said, but he did not know how many voted.
Obama, who's aiming to become the first black Democratic nominee for president, is in a tight race with U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. The April 22 primary in Pennsylvania is seen as a must-win election by both candidates.























