Obama Gets Backing of King's Inner Circle, With Some Exceptions

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Obama Gets Backing of King's Inner Circle, With Some Exceptions

By Julianna Goldman

Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Barack Obama spoke yesterday at the church once pastored by Martin Luther King Jr., matching the soaring chords of the choir with a speech that was part sermon, part call to action.

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As the first black presidential candidate to win broad support among both blacks and whites, Obama, 46, has the backing of most of the civil rights activists who worked with King. They view him as the embodiment of King's vision of a society in which race counts less than character.

``In the 40th year that Martin King died, America is beginning to see the light beyond race for leadership,'' said Joseph Lowery, 86, co-founder with King of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. ``I wish Martin could have lived to see that day and maybe he is somehow aware of what's happening.''

Rifts

At the same time, though, the Illinois senator's candidacy has exposed rifts in the civil-rights establishment.

While veterans of the SCLC such as such as C.T. Vivian, Wyatt Tee Walker, Dorothy Cotton and Jesse Jackson are backing Obama, others, including Georgia Representative John Lewis and former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, continue to support his rival for the Democratic nomination, Senator Hillary Clinton of New York.

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Young, 75, said he has a personal friendship with Hillary Clinton that goes back more than 30 years to when his first wife worked with her on children's issues.

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