Black delegates at GOP convention decline 78 percent

After seating a record number of African American delegates in 2004, last week's Republican NationalConvention in St. Paul, Minn. had the lowest Black representation in 40 years, according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.

Blacks and the 2008 Republican Convention, a guide released last week by the nonpartisan research institution that focuses on minority issues, said that African Americans will comprise only 1.5 percent of the total number of GOP delegates, substantially below the record setting 6.7 percent in 2004.

The 36 Black delegates in 2008 represent a 78.4 percent decline from the 167 Black delegates at the 2004 GOP convention.

Based on …