Historically Black political party still alive

New Crisis, The, Nov/Dec 2002 by Peoples, Betsy

Now the party is an interracial mix of people concerned about the environmnet, labor and race issues.

Election Day for South Carolina voters proved to be of historical significance thanks to a 33-year-- old Black political party that has struggled to keep its name alive.

On November 5, ten names appeared on the ballot under the United Citizens party - three candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives, six vying for state representative seats, one for sherriff of Greenville, S.C. - and one was a write-- in candidate for governor.

"I think it is very important symbolically," says South Carolina State Representative David J. Mack Ill. "I am a Democrat, yet I still have a deep appreciation for the history of the United Citizens party and what it means in the African American community."

Organized in 1969, the United Citizens party (UCP) was created to help African Americans get elected during a time when White Democrats in the racially polarized state refused even to nominate African Americans. The party has been largely inactive since the mid 1970s, but today the organization claims about 650 members - an interracial mix of people concerned about the environment, labor and race issues, among other generally liberal concerns.

"They're still addressing issues of concern to the African American community, so it's absolutely important to keep it going," says John Roy Harper, the principal organizer of the UCP who worked for the party from 1969 to 1974. "We organized it to open our own political vehicle. Today, I'm encouraged to see Black Democrats on the ticket. It presents an opportunity for fusion politics and shows the Democratic Party that they can't take Black officials for granted."

Mike Avey, the party's current chair, is White. "Non-Blacks have joined the party because it has functioned as a coalition, because it ran [Ralph] Nader [for president] in 2000 and because in South Carolina all the progressives traditionally work together," says Avey. The candidates have variety of reasons for running on the UCP ticket, but many point to the party's historical significance as their primary motivation.

Like Mack, other state representatives are both UCP and Democratic candidates. In South Carolina, candidates can appear on the ballot under more than one party because of the fusion law. A few other states, including New York, also allow fusion tickets.

Danielle Vinson, a professor of political science at Furman University in Greenville, S.C., says dual balloting is good for third parties because it raises their profile. "It's not a bad tactic, because it does at least let people see the name on the ballot."

As far as recognition, Vinson says, the UCP is facing an "uphill battle."

"It was created as a vehicle to allow us to participate in the political process. My reason for allowing my name to appear on the ballot was to commemorate the sacrifices made by those individuals," says State Representative Joe Neal, who is a dual Democratic/UCP candidate.

Neal adds that beyond the commemoration, he has no illusions that the party is a "viable vehicle" right now. "That's not the point for me," says Neal. "The point is to recognize what the party meant, why it was created and the sacrifices that were made by those who created it."