After an outcry from riders and several African-American politicians, Sox-35th and three other stations reopened the following day.

Peter Lawson Jones is an African-American politician of the Democratic party.

Several African-American politicians said they knew of instances where blacks who were waiting in line to vote were turned away when the polls closed.

"We don't want to see two respected African-American politicians in this kind of battle."

Mr. Yassky is white and his three rivals are black; African-American politicians have held the seat for decades.

He presented replicas of three outfits worn by African-American politicians.

And by hard campaigning within the democratic system he became the first, and still only, African-American politician of national importance.

And, despite the huge increase in black elected officials, the ambitions of African-American politicians do not always serve the needs of their poorest constituents.

Brown, considered by many to be one of the most powerful African-American politicians in the country, only once been defeated in a run for public office.

The boom years for African-American politicians were the early 1970's, when the lowest annual increase in the number of black elected officials was 14 percent.