Blacks say they're pressured to back Obama

WASHINGTON, April 21 (UPI) -- Black activists backing Democratic U.S. presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton say they are a minority within a minority.

The Dallas Morning News reported Monday that many black Democrats are throwing their support behind Clinton rival Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois.

Take Lloyd Elam. The 34-year-old accountant said when he entered his DeSoto, Texas, Democratic caucus in March and found the room packed with vocal Obama supporters.

"I felt like if I stood up and said I was for Hillary, there was no telling what would have happened," Elam said. "I went home early and watched the results on television."

Then there are black elected officials who are backing Clinton, the junior New York senator.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Houston has been booed and jeered by Obama supporters at public events, while Rep. Diane Watson of California has received threatening letters because she has endorsed Clinton.

"I understand the emotional charge that African-Americans got when they saw the surge in Obama's campaign," said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., who has been called an Uncle Tom by Obama supporters. "But a lot of people have experienced threats and so forth. The tragedy is, of all the people in the country who can least afford to dictate how people should vote, it's that group."