Clinton gains key black endorsement fresh off Nev. win

Fresh off her Nevada primary win, Chappaqua's Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) gained the endorsement of a prominent black reverend Sunday. A day ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Rev. Calvin

News 12 Staff

Jan 20, 2008, 11:32 PM

Updated 6,074 days ago

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Fresh off her Nevada primary win, Chappaqua's Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) gained the endorsement of a prominent black reverend Sunday.
A day ahead of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Rev. Calvin Butts, of Harlem's historic Abyssinian Baptist Church, introduced Clinton as a friend to the black community. She received a standing ovation and described listening to King speak as a "transforming experience" for her.
Clinton had recently come under fire for saying King's dream of racial equality was only realized when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Meanwhile, dozens of volunteers with the group Westchester for Obama rallied at the corner of Palmer and Weaver avenues in Larchmont, hoping to drum up support for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).
Obama also spoke of King at the reverend's home church in Atlanta.
Clinton won the popular vote in Nevada, but Obama captured more delegates in the contest. The pair, along with other Democratic contenders, will face off for votes again in the Jan. 26 South Carolina primary. More than half of voters there are expected to be black.
"I think it's a close call, but I think we have two very strong candidates between Hillary and Obama," said Archie Gwathmey, of Bronxville. "I think she has more experience, he has a little bit more vision."
AP wire reports contributed to this story.