By Joyce King
USA Today
Last month, I was invited to a church service to hear a man that Time magazine once dubbed "the next Billy Graham." Bishop T.D. Jakes, the internationally known minister of The Potter's House, a non-denominational church in Dallas, extended a welcome to all first-time visitors. But there were three people in the audience he acknowledged by name.
One was the new Dallas Mavericks basketball coach, Avery Johnson. The second was me. I wrote a book about a hate crime in Jasper, Texas. Even more stunning was the third guest. U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, was greeted enthusiastically by the largely African-American crowd.
Hutchison isn't alone when it comes to powerful Republicans who aren't waiting until election time to reach out to blacks. The GOP's effort began last year when President Bush addressed the National Urban League. Ken Mehlman, the national party chairman, has been especially aggressive in urging African-Americans to consider a return to the "party of Lincoln." His efforts this year include:
• Visiting Washington's predominantly black Howard University to recruit potential independent voters concerned with economic empowerment.
• Appearing on the Tavis Smiley talk show on PBS.
• Meeting monthly with his recently formed African-American Advisory Committee.
Mehlman is trying to build on the slight gains made among blacks in the 2004 election. Nationally, Bush got 11% of the black vote, compared with 9% in 2000. The extra votes have inspired Republicans to keep pushing their faith-based agenda. By doubling the national number, analysts agree, Republicans would be in a position to consistently have a lock on the White House.
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