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``Why
are half of our Afro-American boys not graduating from
high school? Why is there 1.1 million more people in
poverty over the past few years while we're talking
about the better economy, and 11 percent of African-Americans
are unemployed?'' Johnson said.
Conservative
Christian leaders said the problems Sharpton and Johnson
cited were symptomatic of more fundamental ills.
``You've
got to go beyond that and address the root causes, which
is the breakdown of family and morality,'' said Tony
Perkins, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Family
Research Council.
Stable
homes for children will lead to better education, higher
social attainment and lower incarceration rates, Perkins
said.
Sharpton,
a 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, also condemned
Indiana's new voter identification law requiring people
to present government-issued documents at the polls
to verify their identity.
The
law will be tested in a general election for the first
time next Tuesday. He compared it to poll taxes and
other barriers to voting that blacks have faced in the
past.
The
American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana and Indiana
Democrats have challenged the voter identification law
before the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. No ruling
is expected before next week's election.
The
law requires voters to prove citizenship when registering
to vote and to show photo IDs when they go to the polls.
The law was meant to make sure illegal immigrants weren't
casting ballots.
Opponents
of the law contend it discourages some people from voting,
including the elderly, poor and disadvantaged who do
not always carry identity documents such as driver's
licenses or passports. Supporters say the law is necessary
to prevent voting fraud and illegal immigrants from
casting ballots.
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