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Changing of the guard in black leadership?

By Emily Ngo | emily.ngo@am-ny.com

3:30 PM EDT, July 27, 2008

Outside the South Beach Cafe in Harlem, a mural emblazoned "Great African Americans" features the Rev. Jesse Jackson alongside Malcolm X, Frederick Douglass and other groundbreakers.

Inside the neighborhood eatery, however, a hostess readily slams Jackson for accusing Barack Obama of "talking down to black people" and expressing his desire to castrate the presidential nominee.

"It seems petty, but Jesse Jackson wants to be Barack Obama," said Fatou Sarr, 35. "It's just jealousy, because Jesse Jackson used to be relevant."

Jackson has apologized to the Democratic senator from Illinois, but his aren't the only inflammatory remarks to pockmark Obama's historic rise. Just months ago, Obama parted ways with longtime pastor Jeremiah Wright after a very public clash about race in America.

Jackson and Wright, both 66, are black leaders of a different era than 46-year-old Obama. Having experienced Jim Crow firsthand, their heated rhetoric and angry resentments are almost understandable, experts said.

"The older black generation of the civil rights era was defined by one important issue," said Keli Goff, author of "Party Crashing: How the Hip-Hop Generation Declared Political Independence." "If you have to go to the back of the bus, if you have to use a different water fountain, it defines your whole life."

Obama in the company of Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker, 39; former Tennessee Congressman Harold Ford, Jr., 38; and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, 51 may appear to Jackson to be part of a new African-American political guard that "has it so easy and just coasted right in," Goff said.

"It's like you're so sad that that could never be you," Goff said. "You think, if only I had been born 20 years later."

Jackson has refuted claims he is resentful. "Why would I be jealous? I'm part of a winning team."

Black leadership in transition

"Jesse Jackson had his time, and his time is now over," said "Baby Face" Nelson, a 41-year-old card designer in Harlem. "I don't see him as a spokesperson not at all and certainly not a positive spokesperson."

African-American leadership is in transition. The Rev. Al Sharpton admitted to Newsweek: "There's definitely a generational divide going on in the black community, and it's been happening for a while. People who deny it aren't seeing clearly."

At 35, Benjamin Jealous is set to become the youngest leader of the NAACP, the nation's oldest civil rights organization. Jealous will replace 62-year-old Bruce S. Gordon and share power with 68-year-old chairman Julian Bond.

In Brooklyn, community activist and former reality TV star Kevin Powell is running against Congressman Edolphus Towns, who at 74, is 32 years Powell's senior.

"The prior generation was trailblazers who were the first to serve from their particular race; that's no longer the case," said Brooklyn Assemb. Hakeem Jeffries, 37. "Our generation represents increasingly diverse communities and therefore, different challenges."

Jackson's presidential push was based on African-American empowerment, Jeffries said. "Obama's campaign has been based on the notion of bringing all Americans together."

Political issues transcend race

Political success for Obama and other young black leaders is measured in large part by their appeal across racial divides.

"The civil rights agenda is still a relevant political issue, but it's now one among many," Goff said. "They talk about inequality but not along racial lines, because the issues are no longer falling strictly along racial lines."

The economy, as an example, affects Americans of all ethnicities, she said.