Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer

Nicole Layne - Contributed

LAST FRIDAY, Nicole Layne braved the long lines to cast her early vote for Barack Obama in the United States general election. She, like millions of African-Americans, will keep her fingers crossed that the Illinois senator defeats Republican John McCain and becomes the country's black president.

Layne, 26, lives in Obama's hometown of Chicago and works as an internal consultant for the Sears department store.

She says her vote for the charismatic senator transcends race. Victory for Obama, she believes, would be a big step in transforming America into a colour-blind society.

"It would be one step in the right direction, but I think that there's still many underlying social and economic issues that need to be addressed. Obama, I think, would work to address the education and income gaps that exist," Layne told The Gleaner.

Ballot

Layne is a graduate of Yale University with a degree in political science. Her father, Edward Layne, is Barbados' honorary consul to the United States, while her mother is an African-American from Boston, Massachusetts.

Last Friday, she voted for the third time. Eight years ago, Layne first cast her ballot for Democrat Al Gore, who lost a tight and controversial race to Texas governor George W Bush.

This time around, most polls predict a landslide victory for the 47-year-old Obama, the son of a black Kenyan father and white American mother. His campaign has attracted a diverse demographic, but it is persons like Layne whom he has appealed to most.

A Gallup poll released last Thursday showed 64 per cent of registered voters between the ages of 18 and 29 plan to vote for Obama, compared to 32 per cent for McCain. Not surprisingly, 91 per cent of African-American voters say they will vote for the Hawaii-born Obama, compared to four per cent for McCain.

Before she moved to Chicago, Layne lived in Atlanta, Georgia a city many consider the beacon of the new South. Migration by northerners helped change racial attitudes in the once segregated city, while bold social and economic programmes by black mayors Andrew Young and Maynard Jackson, shaped a vibrant black middle-class.

Flagging economy

Layne hopes an Obama administration would establish similar initiatives in major cities where the socio-economic condition of blacks is dire when compared to whites and other minority groups.

While reviving a flagging economy remains the biggest issue with voters, Layne says young Americans are fascinated with Obama's personal story. They are inspired by a child of parents from two vastly different cultures who rose to the top.

"It's a great story, him being raised by his mother with help from his grandmother. It's a story a lot of people can identify with, especially in the black community," she said.