Word: african
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...business to investigate corruption in his predecessor's administration, eventually revealing that former President Frederick Chiluba had stolen some $41 million from the state during his rule. Mwanawasa thereafter became known as a politician who was never afraid to challenge corruption and greed. He was one of the first African leaders to speak out against the Zimbabwean despot Robert Mugabe, lamenting the plight of the neighboring country as a "catastrophe." Two months after suffering a debilitating stroke, he died in Paris...
...surprises no one more than Gunn, a man who, when he first heard the name "Barack Obama" from some community-organizer friends in 2002, promptly forgot it. "I didn't even think he was African American," says Gunn. "The name sounded foreign to me." Two years later, he connected the name with the face when Obama came to his church to campaign for Inez Tenenbaum, then Democratic candidate for Senate...
...phone. The two met in Washington a few weeks later, and Gunn became his state's political director. Using his organizing skills and contacts, Gunn set about building a grass-roots movement that empowered volunteers. When they learned that many black voters didn't realize Obama was African American, the campaign developed a seven-minute dvd about Obama's life that supporters could play in their living rooms for friends and neighbors. "We told them it belonged to them," Gunn says, "that Barack's success would depend on how much ownership they took...
When primary day arrived in South Carolina, it was a must-win moment for Obama. His strong start in the Iowa caucuses had surprised a lot of people and shown African Americans that his quest just might be possible. But then came the stumble in New Hampshire that allowed Hillary Clinton back into the race. South Carolina was the first contest in a state with a sizable black population--and on that day, African Americans gave him more than 8 in every 10 of their votes. "It all started here," Gunn said with a smile, leaning back in his chair...
...African Americans in South Carolina, the tale of how they helped Obama win the nomination has already become the stuff of legend. James Clyburn, Gunn's Congressman and a fellow delegate, is a veteran of the civil rights movement who never thought he'd see a black presidential nominee in his lifetime. But while he's proud of Obama, he's also proud of his generation for making Obama possible. "We were standing on shoulders," Clyburn says. "We had a responsibility to develop strong shoulders for someone else to stand...