The Nation - News from June 20, 1989

Republican National Committee Chairman Lee Atwater went before the nation’s mayors with his campaign to attract minorities to his party, saying blacks can “create political leverage for themselves” by voting Republican. Atwater told the U.S. Conference of Mayors, meeting in Charleston, S.C., that blacks, simply by listening to Republican overtures, can gain political strength because Democrats no longer will be able to take the black vote for granted. “If black voters will listen to us, give us a chance, I can’t guarantee our party’s success, but I can guarantee black voters’ success,” he said.