Meet Mitt Romney's Black Leadership Council

Congressman Allen West is one of three national council chairs. He is an outspoken Tea Party-backed lawmaker, who was recently in hot water for suggesting that far-left House members are communists. Getty Image

Thumbnails

Photo 1 of 10

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

During Democratic National Convention, GOP candidate unveils crew of African American leaders who support his bid

Mitt Romney has come a long way since he “let the dogs out” on a group of African American teenagers at a Martin Luther King, Jr. rally during his run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008.

In July, Romney took a giant leap forward and addressed the 103rd NAACP Convention in Houston. But a more recent overture, the latest outstretched GOP hand to on-the-fence African American voters, may top the high-profile speech.

Last week, the former Massachusetts governor announced the formation of his campaign’s Black Leadership Council. The group, made up of three national council chairs and 20 advisory council members, is a mahogany collection of distinguished politicians and public figures from around the county, many of whom are anti-gay rights and anti-choice.

News of the council came just one day before President Barack Obama accepted the nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. The Republican Party, which held its convention in Tampa, Fla. the week before, is believed to have very little support among African American voters. The party’s candidate, Romney, recently polled at zero percent support from black voters, although some black Republicans dispute how representative the survey was.

[SEE ALSO: Young Black GOP Struggle With Stigma]

Romney’s council is tasked with helping the candidate form policies with their expertise on issues impacting the black community. (View photos of 10 members of the council in the gallery above.)