Edwards sees 'personal responsibility' on civil rights
By MIKE GLOVER
The Associated Press
2/20/04 6:46 PM
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) -- Broadening his populist economic theme, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said Friday his background as a Southern politician gives him "an enormous personal responsibility" to be a leading advocate for civil rights.
Edwards, who was born in South Carolina and grew up in North Carolina, said the segregation he witnessed in the 1950s and 1960s converted him to a lifelong advocate for civil rights. The 50-year-old Edwards would have been a young child in the '50s.
"I believe those of us from the South carry a special responsibility when it comes to issues of equality, race and civil rights," he said. "That responsibility, by the way, is to lead, not follow, when it comes to issues of civil rights."
…In building on his second-place showing in the Wisconsin primary, Edwards hopes the trade theme will resonate in key states with primaries March 2. In Georgia, he also courted the black vote, an important constituency in a state he is targeting for special attention.
"I have, as many of you have, seen the ugliest face of segregation and discrimination, young African-American kids sent upstairs in movie theaters, white-only signs on restaurants and lunch counters," he said. "We have such an enormous responsibility, I feel an enormous personal responsibility."