Steele works to change strategy for blacks and GOP

To many people, the words 'black' and 'Republican' still don't sit alongside each other comfortably. One doesn't even have to look at voting data to know that the Republican Party has its work cut out when it comes to attracting more African-Americans voters.

However, the notion that Republicans don't care about African-Americans is something that a group of mostly black Republicans based in Harlem, New York, is determined to challenge. This group - which officially launched this week and is now known as the Community Coalition - strongly believes that if it can make the epicenter of black culture more receptive to Republican principles, it can do the same in minority communities in the rest of New York City, statewide and eventually around the country.

This week, RNC Chairman Michael Steele, alongside prominent Harlem and New York City Republicans, set out the vision for how the Community Coalition will go about doing this. Addressing an energetic crowd - the majority of whom were African-American - at Gospel Uptown, a recently opened upscale venue in Harlem, Steele proclaimed that there is "a lot to be excited about".

He emphasized the importance of networking and relationship building, telling the audience that they must be more actively involved in the black community. Just don't call it "outreach," however. Outreach is a word that Steele claims to hate because, in the past, it has meant photo opportunities, used as evidence of Republicans having a few black friends, rather than meaningful engagement with voters. In any case, said Steele, Republicans are already "inextricably linked" to the community and must remain so - not just during an election cycle, but at all times.

For 26-year-old Brandon Brice, one of the organizers of the launch event, perception of the Republican Party in minority areas is a "marketing issue," which has come about because Republican candidates have tended not to venture into these communities.

"If [a voter] sees one brand or one candidate and [they] don't see the other one, there really is no choice," Brice explains. He believes that the committee can provide "real solutions for real urban Americans" and bring "Republican ideas and principles back to urban America."

One of the ways in which the committee intends to do this is by promoting Republican values such as discipline, responsibility and individualism, which Steele says is about giving people the change they want, rather than "the change [the government thinks they] need." The other key aspect is the small business development and creation, particularly as a solution to growing levels of black unemployment.

"Small business is the backbone of this country," asserts Wendell Niles, a member of the coalition committee. "When you look at the data you will see that small businesses are really creating jobs. That's an important thing. In a community like Harlem, one of the important things is, 'If I have a business, I can hire people and if I can hire people, people can take care if their families.' This is all about building: building business, building families, building the community."

When Michael Steele became RNC Chair, he was confident that he would be the new face of the Republican Party. His popularity among people of color, however, still remains low. The question is, then, what difference a few more black Republican faces in Harlem or in other minority communities around the city will make.

"Diversity is an important issue in the Republican party," explains Brice. "But it's also about having a message that sounds good to [minority voters] and that resonates with them."

The Harlem black Republicans are clearly encouraged by recent Republican wins in areas like New Jersey that have large black populations. It remains to be seen what impact the community coalition will have. With mid-term elections coming up in 2010, that impact will be clear sooner rather than later. However, if there is anything the Republicans in Harlem do have, it's determination.