Concerning the Dec. 3 letter to the editor from Gary Easter on the presidential election results in Cuyahoga County, African-American voters did not primarily vote based on race, as he seems to believe.
Blacks voted in about the same proportion for white Democrats John Kerry and Bill Clinton (and other white Democratic presidential candidates) as they did for Barack Obama, roughly 80 percent to 90 percent. A fact check supports that claim (e.g., http://factcheck.org/2008/04/blacks-and-the-democratic-party/ and http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-250_162-650482.html.)
Racist voting occurs when voters vote against a candidate because of his race, rather than when voters vote for a candidate because of racial or cultural pride. I think that fewer blacks vote against a white candidate because he is white than whites vote against a black candidate because he is black. That is racism.
Mark Salling Cleveland Heights