At debate in St. Louis this week is the role of Black voters in American politics.

The National Urban League wraps up its four-day convention in St. Louis tomorrow. Today, it hosts a presidential forum with only Democratic candidates in attendance. Two lesser known Republican candidates cancelled at the last minute, leaving the stage to the Democrats.

Attendees to the convention yesterday debated the cause and effect of why so many Black voters vote Democrat. In the 2004 presidential election, 90-percent of the Black vote went to the Democrat. In 2000, 92-percent voted Democrat. The no-show of Republican candidates in St. Louis today doesn’t help. Even a Republican spokesman admits their absence from the Urban League convention looks bad.