Bending Toward Justice

"In 1908, when Democrats first gathered in Denver, African-American activists asked the party to make a place for them--inside the convention, in the platform and in the campaign to come. At the very least, they asked, Democrats should take a stand against lynching.
"William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic nominee for president , vetoed even that modest outreach -- fearing that to do so would weaken the party's hold on what was then referred to as 'the solid south.'
"One hundred years passed. A civil rights movement rose. A new generation of political leaders--most, though not all of them, Democrats--stepped gingerly toward the future.
"And on Wednesday afternoon, at around 4:50 p.m., the Democratic party nominated an African-American man for president."

John Nicholas reports in The Nation as the former party of white supremacy nominates Barack Obama for President.