Something stirring in America

A Democrat who represents Atlanta, Lewis fretted for months over whom to endorse in the primaries. Last October, he joined much of the black political establishment in backing Hillary Clinton — out of a sense of loyalty and realpolitik. But as it became clear that Barack Obama might actually win the nomination, Lewis seemed increasingly agonised over the choice he had made. It wasn’t just that he was catching hell from his African-American constituents; he began to feel that he was on the wrong side of history.

We haven’t heard much about race during the Democratic convention. That’s clearly by design, and in terms of Obama’s prospects it’s probably a good thing. Obama has taken great pains to reassure voters that as president he would act without racial animus or resentment — that he bears no grudges and intends to settle no scores. His success to date has depended largely on his ability to be seen as a candidate who happens to be black rather than as “a black candidate.”

Still, this is an amazing, unbelievable moment. Wandering around the convention hall, I kept running into people with a kind of “pinch me, I’m dreaming” look in their eyes. I saw Spike Lee, who seems to be everywhere; in a television interview earlier in the week, he grandiloquently divided American history into two epochs, “B.B.” and “A.B.” — Before Barack and After Barack. I met black delegates from Florida, California and various points in between, and they all said basically the same thing: do you believe this is happening?

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