After Sen. Barack Obama won the Jan. 3 Democratic caucuses in white-as-snow Iowa, he and his campaign wasted no time trying to put one idea to rest: that white voters would never accept the candidate because of his race.
But some African-Americans remain unconvinced, and their doubts could undermine Obama's presidential campaign, a possibility that grew after his defeat in the New Hampshire primary.
Don't get black voters wrong - they say he is their pride, their cause for excitement and hope that the future will hold more acceptance and better times.
After Obama's victory in Iowa, Melissa Harris-Lacewell, an associate professor of politics and African-American studies at Princeton University, watched him on TV as he stood on the stage facing a mob of supporters, his black wife and daughter by his side, doing the presidential wave.
"I woke up my 5-year-old daughter and said, `Look, look, look!' " said Harris- Lacewell, who supports Obama. "Because it's just so beautiful."
Still, even as most plan to cast their votes for Obama, blacks of varied class and education levels say they are worried that his skin color could keep him from the White House - or, if he makes it to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., he won't be able to achieve a hoped-for new era in race relations.
Voters are concerned about his relative lack of political experience, surveys indicate. Obama has a lot of competition from Hillary Clinton for the black vote, partly for that reason, said Ronald Walters, a government and politics professor at the University of Maryland, College Park.
"You can't get past the major reservation, which is the reason a lot of people went to Hillary in the first place, which is that Hillary can deliver the goods," said Walters, who said he supports Obama nevertheless. "The biggest concern is that he hasn't been in public life as much as Hillary."
Beyond experience, race looms as a potential obstacle. From the day Obama seemed likely to run for president, blacks have expressed concerns that he would lose the primary or general elections because of his race, said Michael Dawson, the John D. MacArthur professor of political science at the University of Chicago.
"A substantial number of black people do think he will win the nomination and the general election," said Dawson, who does not publicly support any candidate. But "the doubts certainly linger."
