Local activists have formed the Black American Citizens Political Action Commitee (BLACPAC) to further the political goals of black citizens in Rhode Island. Membership is restricted to black American citizens, according to the organization's president, Thomas O'Connor, a lawyer and former city councilman in Providence. Fifty members have joined, and the goal is to recruit another 200 to 300, O'Connor says. Like other PACs, the group plans to raise money and endorse favored candidates.

O'Connor says the group was formed because of a belief that mainstream politicians and the "media elite" as he calls it, are diminishing the importance of black Americans in elections. At the same time, more attention is being devoted to the rapid growth of the Hispanic population in Rhode Island. Hispanic outnumber blacks, 90,047 to 47,174, in the 2000 Census; almost one-third of Providence residents are Hispanic; and more than half of the school children in Providence are Hispanic.

Although he denies any major tension between the black and Hispanic communities, O'Connor says members of BLACPAC believe that Latino political strategies are for Latinos only. In contrast, he says, when he started in politics 25 years ago, black American leaders fashioned strategies that advocated for the needs of all minorities.

Latinos showed up in some strength to vote in the 2000 Democratic primary in Providence and helped to support Richard Patino, the first Hispanic elected official in Central Falls, who joined the city council in 2001. But O'Connor doubts whether this early Latino political success can equal the voting experience of blacks. With the exception of Puerto Ricans, who are American citizens, he believes that the Latino population lacks a high percentage of eligible voters.

In the 2000 election, some Latino candidates, who gained supported from a variety of racial and ethnic groups, did well for first-time candidates. O'Connor says his concern, though, is that politics is becoming more stratified along ethnic lines.

Issue Date: March 1 - 7, 2002