by Askia Muhammad
White House Correspondent

WASHINGTON�Despite his appointment of two Blacks to high positions in his administration, the Black community is cautiously sizing-up President-elect George W. Bush as he adjusts himself in the country�s seat of power.

"He�s going to have to get beyond the symbolism of Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell," said Dr. Ronald Walters, professor of political science at the University of Maryland, regarding the appointments to the posts of secretary of state and national security adviser, respectively. "That sure ain�t enough."

"Colin Powell is not going to advance George W. Bush�s standing among African Americans, and it will diminish Colin Powell�s standing," said Dr. David Bositis, senior research Fellow at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

As Gov. Bush hastens his abbreviated preparation to take over the government, several initiatives are being launched among Black leaders to arrange early meetings with Mr. Bush after he takes office, and Pan Africanist leaders also want to meet with Gen. Powell to discuss U.S. foreign policy.

"The grassroots movement, led by the National Black United Front, will be calling a meeting with Colin Powell," Dr. Conrad Worrill, chairman of the National Black United Front told The Final Call. The purpose of such a meeting, he said, is to put Gen. Powell "on notice. His militaristic behavior in the past, of sending in guns to kill people, should not be the policy in Africa. We do not want him to perform as he has in the past, sending in troops to kill civilians and innocent people."

At the same time, even some Black Republicans are uncertain about the new administration�s ability to overcome the stunning 92 percent to 8 percent vote of no-confidence from Black voters for Mr. Bush and his running mate, former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, to govern fairly in behalf of "all the people," not just those who voted for him.

Mr. Bush announced his first Black appointees just hours before he arrived in Washington for his first transition meetings with President Bill Clinton, the congressional leadership, and with Vice President Al Gore, nearly seven weeks after Election Day.

The narrow Bush victory came with just one vote to spare in the Electoral College after the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 late in the evening Dec. 12 to overturn the Florida Supreme Court�s order to recount by hand thousands of disputed ballots, which might have given the state�s 25 electoral votes to Mr. Gore. Mr. Bush officially won the state by fewer than 1,000 out of more than six million votes cast.

Most of the disputed "undercounted" ballots in Florida were cast in predominantly Black precincts. Thousands of other ballots cast by Black voters were tossed out because of other technical challenges, and thousands more Black potential voters were improperly removed from the rolls by the Republican secretary of state�s office, who incorrectly labeled them felons.

Across the board, Black leaders expressed outrage over what many described as gross violations of the Voting Rights Act, and the "disenfranchisement" of Blacks voters, not just in Florida, but throughout the country.

"In a stolen election, where the African in America vote was unanimously given to Al Gore, it presents tremendous challenges to our community to attempt to leverage our participation in the electoral process," said Dr. Worrill.

"Clearly, voters in minority communities were disproportionately victimized by the (Supreme) Court�s failure" in its responsibility, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) complained.

"Like many African Americans, I am angry and worried," agreed Dr. Alvin Poussaint, professor of Psychiatry at Harvard University Medical School. "I am angry because voting irregularities in Florida discounted thousands of Black votes that might have elected the candidate who embodies our aspirations. Worried because Mr. Bush may now feel disinclined to support the interests of a group that did not support him."

Others, especially Republicans, disagree. Black leaders "keep talking about this Dred Scott decision, and suggesting that the election was stolen, that�s dangerous talk," said Webster Brooks, political director of the National Black Republican Leadership Council. "Things that are being said that are uncalled for, they need to stop."

"I think Black people are operating out of a fear context, and a victimization context which connotes that we are powerless," Milton Bins, president of the Lincoln-Douglas Institute said in an interview. "We should realize what potential we have. Black people should now realize we are no longer sitting in the back of the bus, we can now determine the direction the bus goes in. We are certainly in a position to demand something, not ask, demand something, other than those positions of Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell," said Mr. Bins, who served as on the board of advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to both Presidents Reagan and Bush, and was a senior campaign advisor to 1996 GOP nominee Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kan.).

Even Republicans admit however that as president, Mr. Bush must quickly put the situation in Florida to rest. "It can�t be sidestepped," said Mr. Brooks. "Real evidence has to be produced in terms of the investigations. The action has to happen soon, so that it doesn�t fester. If there were actual violations of people�s voting rights and some things that were illegally done, then those people need to be dealt with, and it should be done in a very swift fashion."

There will be a lingering affect on the relationship between Mr. Bush and the Black community for a long time, insists Dr. Bositis. Mr. Bush should "atone" for the perception among Blacks that he stole the election, by eliminating laws that disenfranchise ex-felons�giving back votes to people who don�t have voting rights now�and by supporting affirmative action, he said.

Because of so much uncertainty, even among Black Republicans, about whether the Republican right-wing elements will win the battle of inside influence on the younger Bush as they did when his father was in the White House, political observers are recommending that Black leaders pursue more than one track in order to best advance the Black agenda.

A number of meetings are scheduled for late December, while the weeks before the Presidential Inauguration on Saturday, Jan. 20, 2001, there are a number of civil-rights-type demonstrations being organized. The Rev. Walter Fauntroy is scheduling a Jan. 4 protest in Washington, while the Rev. Jesse Jackson is planning a Jan. 15, "Remember Selma: Enforce the Voting Rights Act" march in Montgomery, Ala. In addition, there will be ongoing counter-inaugural protests in Washington from Jan. 15�the Martin Luther King Holiday�through Jan. 20.

The various strategies of some Black leaders for dealing with Mr. Bush are: protesting about voting rights violations concerning the Florida vote count; meeting with Mr. Bush and his Cabinet officers to determine just how far the administration will go toward meeting the Black agenda; moderate Black Republicans working with other moderates in that party.

Surprisingly, the Bush administration and the GOP may yet fear the power of the Black vote, which hurt the party�s Congressional lead in elections in 1998 and again in 2000. Blacks on the inside of the party are even talking about organizing to advance the greater community good, before personal gain.

"Given the way the Black farmers were treated by (Secretary Dan) Glickman and the Department of Agriculture (in the Clinton Administration), I think there�s a tremendous opportunity that (President-elect Bush should) direct the Department of Agriculture to go back and review the class action lawsuit and to make some findings and recommendations to eliminate the discriminatory loan practices," said Mr. Brooks, who is also organizing a meeting of young Black Republicans to structure a policy agenda.

"If we don�t challenge him, as the moderate, progressive part of the Republican Party, if we don�t come up with an agenda that we feel must be advanced�in the area of health; in the area of education; in the criminal justice system; in the area of economic development and employment; job availability; and cleaning up this election machinery�if we can�t come up with our five or six point plan and then move it with this President, then I�ll know," he said.