The new era of hope and change has bypassed Atlanta's mayoral election.

Instead, the race card has been played big-time – not subtly but blatantly with a frontal assault on the prospect of a white candidate winning the office held for 35 years by blacks.

A memo from a group called Black Leadership Forum surfaced last week targeting candidate Mary Norwood, a white city councilwoman who is given a chance of winning.

“Time is of the essence,” the memo said, “because in order to defeat a Norwood (white) mayoral candidacy we have to get out now and work in a manner to defeat her without a runoff.”

The group endorsed City Council President Lisa Borders as “the best black candidate in the race who has a chance to win the election because she can attract downtown white support.” Borders denounced the memo as did another leading black candidate, state Sen. Kasim Reed.

Of course, it’s not like the race card is a novel idea in Atlanta politics. It’s just out in the open now.



Whatever happened to “transcending race” with Barak Obama’s campaign? And Martin Luther King Jr.’s credo of judging a person by character, not skin color?