Ken Lewis endorsed by historian Tim Tyson

A lot of endorsements have been collected by each of the three leading Democratic candidates for US Senate. Garnering the support of a cultural figure, historian and contemporary observer the likes of Tim Tyson is significant in my book. Most well known for his memoir, Blood Done Sign My Name, the North Carolina native has penned several seminal book recounting our state's history.

Tyson compares Lewis to Barack Obama, the first Democratic presidential candidate to carry North Carolina since Jimmy Carter:

In 2008, we discovered that the old political era was over. The “inevitable” Democratic candidate came to North Carolina with the endorsement of the governor and the support of the party machinery. Barack Obama beat the Anointed One by fifteen points in the primary, then came back and took North Carolina in the general election. He did so by igniting minority voters, young people, and progressives to crack the Republican Party’s “Southern strategy” right here in the land of Jesse Helms. Turns out it was turnout all along.

Tyson also describes Lewis in the context of the state's historical struggle over white supremacy:

I first met Ken Lewis during a classroom discussion about the 1890s 'Fusion coalition' in North Carolina, a visionary interracial political alliance that swept our state legislature, the governor’s race, and both US Senate seats more than a century ago. That coalition never lost at the polls—they were only defeated when the Conservatives resorted to violence, fraud, and racial demagoguery. But as I listened to this brilliant, well-spoken and warm-hearted young North Carolinian talk about our past and our future, I began to think that Ken Lewis might represent a new “fusion coalition” for a new North Carolina.

For the record, YES! Weekly endorsed Elaine Marshall.