In Parts of Pa., Racial Divide Colors Election

Before Bethlehem Steel went bankrupt in 2001 and later sold its Steelton mill, the workforce there was racially mixed. But the workers who labored together and passed each other on the street lived separate lives. Obama's candidacy and his call for a new racial dialogue have not bridged that gap.

The racial lines between the seemingly similar groups at the two American Legion posts aren't hard and fast, but they shape the way the men see the presidential campaign.

At Post 733, Mounds identifies with the "black anger" Obama described, built up in his lifetime by years of what he sees as racial slights. He pushed his drink aside at the post's bar and said he sees in America a white power structure that pays more attention to white children who go missing than to black children, incarcerates black men at a higher rate than other groups and still sanctions clubs that are for white men only.

"Something's got to be done. Not for me, because I'm no spring chicken, but for my children and my grandchildren," he said as Earth, Wind & Fire blasted on the sound system.

Back in Steelton, Mark Willits, 48, said firmly that the focus on race is the "worst thing that could have happened to" Obama's candidacy. "It's a shame that's even an issue at all," said Willits, who works in construction and will probably vote for McCain. "Nobody's happy."

Gary Lamke, 53, sitting at Post 420's bar a few feet from Dowett, said Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell, a Clinton supporter, was correct when he said last month that there are some conservative whites in the state "who are probably not ready to vote for an African American candidate."

"Some of these people still believe the woman should be home taking care of the baby, and they are not going to vote for a black. That's just what they believe," Lamke said, a Schmidt beer in his right hand. "There's prejudice in this country that's never going to go away completely. My stepdaughter's with a black man and went and had a baby by him. I'm okay with it, but that's me. I was raised around black people. If they vote Obama in, I won't lose a wink of sleep because of his color or his policies, but I'm voting for Hillary."

For his part, Dowett may do something he never thought he would do: "For the first time in my lifetime, I might vote for a Republican," he said.

He long ago wrote off Clinton, blaming her husband's embrace of globalization for the demise of the U.S. steel industry. If independent candidate Ralph Nader doesn't make it on the ballot in Pennsylvania, Dowett might vote for McCain, figuring that at least he would look out for senior citizens and veterans.

Dowett said he has nothing in particular against Obama but still can't quite get comfortable with him. Obama "could have thrown [his preacher] under the bus, but he didn't, and that shows loyalty. I respect that," he said. But Wright's words still sound to Dowett completely un-American. They strike him as carrying baggage from the past that he believes black people need to get over.

"I believe the country has softened on race relations," Dowett said. "How am I going to put this without sounding prejudiced? The fact that we have a [black] man running for president of the most powerful country in the world says a lot. . . . You see, Bill Cosby was right on when he says, 'Black people should not be complaining about the past and being persecuted by white people. Why don't they go out and do?' Bill Cosby tells it the way it is. Forty years ago to today, there's no comparison."

Down at Post 733, named in honor of Ephraim Slaughter, a black Civil War veteran, the men and a few women argued that racial politics are never far below the surface in Pennsylvania. Many said they think that the lack of support for Obama from working-class whites in recent contests has been racially motivated, though Obama's aides have said they see the issue as more generational than racial.

Renee L. Hartford said that when Wright came to Harrisburg several years ago for a revival hosted by black pastors, she thought he preached black empowerment, with parts of his message as controversial as the incendiary sermons that made news recently.

"At the time, his message was very much what we needed to hear," she said.

Still, some see reason to believe that the black-white divide is getting smaller -- one person at a time. Decades ago, a buddy of Post 733 regular William Geary married a white woman, and soon afterward they were welcomed to the mill by a burning cross. But 15 years ago, Geary, 75, fell in love with and married his wife, Ellen, who is white. Her white co-workers and family came to the wedding and celebrated.

When he hears black or white folks make comments about his marriage, he is quick to tell them, "This is the best woman I ever had in my life."

To his mind, the millions of white people across the country voting for Obama are proof that many are ready to step across the racial divide -- though he said time will tell if it's enough to get the man elected. "I never thought I'd see it in my lifetime," Geary said.