Republican Leader Says Party Must Court Blacks: Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele on Monday said his party must take steps to win over black voters, and he faulted both Democrats and Republicans for failing to address poverty.
Speaking at Philander Smith College, a historically black college near downtown Little Rock, Steele said Republicans and Democrats need to address poverty in discussions ranging from health care to environmental issues.
'Dr. King would be disappointed in the political leadership of this country for failing to address the least of us,' Steele, who is the first African-American head of the Republican Party, told an audience of more than 500 people at Philander Smith.
