Only when by "communicating with African Americans" you mean embracing "gangsta rap" and generally pandering to the feeling of streets thugs. Most African-Americans I know have no problems siding with- and voting for the mainstream Democratic candidates. Au contraire, many of them find my red - green sympathies a bunch of pie-in-the-sky BS. A clear evidence of that was last mayoral election on Baltimore, when a mainstream white candidate got more black votes than two African -American ones - one acting as a street thug and the other one making vague promises to "neighborhoods."
Speaking of which - last Wednesday my community association organized a public forum for candidates to the city council (which is totally toothless in Baltimore) in the upcoming election. About 11 contenders showed up: 7 Democrats, 2 Repugs, 1 Independent and 1 Green. My heart was with the Green, until he spoke. His presentation was plainly goofy - a reply of my Green experience from few years before, when a meeting to organize write-in campaign for Nader was cancelled because the organizers get the directions wrong and most participants got lost in the vast wasteland of Baltimore/Washington suburbs. So low and behold - most people from my hood will vote for a Democrat - who seems to have his act together
Wojtek