'A message of unity and hope'

One by one, they crossed an invisible threshold.

Atlanta. Little Rock. Richmond. Jackson. Even Birmingham. Southern cities all, steeped in the culture and history of this region - including ugly chapters of racism and black disenfranchisement.

But now, a half-century after civil rights protesters marched for the unfettered right to vote, every Southern state has seen its capital or its largest city - or both - elect an African-American mayor.

Steve Benjamin's victory puts South Carolina in that column. Until his historic win Tuesday, South Carolina had been alone among the 11 Southern states in never granting mayoral power to anyone black in any of its largest cities.

Benjamin acknowledged the historic importance of his victory.

"The people of Columbia spoke," he said in a statement Tuesday night, claiming victory. "And together, we made history.

"History, I hope, not because I am African-American but because we responded to a message of unity and hope and promise. We are indeed one Columbia."

Benjamin's win was not a simple matter of dialing into the demographics of the city.

Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show Columbia's black population actually has decreased in the past few years. It was 46 percent in 2000. A Census Bureau survey conducted from 2006 through 2008 showed the black population had dipped to 42.8 percent - roughly on par with where it stood in 1990.

Political observers say Columbia has its first black mayor because of a variety of factors, starting with Benjamin himself.

"He's smart," said Anne Sinclair, who was on Columbia City Council for 20 years before deciding not to run for re-election in 2008. "He's articulate. He's shown leadership. This is about him."

Todd Shaw, assistant professor of political science at the University of South Carolina, said Benjamin capitalized on an electorate still feeling the impact of Barack Obama's successful presidential campaign.

"Race was neutralized to some degree as a divisive force," Shaw said.

Like Obama, Benjamin deftly practiced what political scientists call "de-racialization," Shaw said. "They've pitched their issues as more economic than race and civil rights."

Benjamin, for instance, stressed as one of his highest priorities increased spending on law enforcement, often a Republican issue.

In some areas of the city, Benjamin did talk about breaking down barriers, a not-so-subtle nod to the racial dynamics of his effort.

But Shaw, who lives in Columbia, said he did not get campaign literature from Benjamin that mentioned race or civil rights until late in the race.

"It's part of that Obama phenomenon," Shaw said. " 'I'm going to mobilize the black electorate, but, to build a winning coalition, I'm going to be limited in the ways in which I discuss race.' "

Benjamin got his start in government in 1999, when then-Gov. Jim Hodges, a Democrat, selected him to head the state Board of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services.

Three years later, Benjamin won the Democratic nomination for state attorney general but lost to Republican Henry McMaster in the general election.

Since then, Benjamin, now 40, has practiced law. He also was the public face of two high-profile development projects that stood to benefit from taxpayer investment and joined the board of a payday-lending firm. Both sidelines presented ripe political targets for opponents. Benjamin quit the development projects and the payday board.

Benjamin was the first major candidate to get in the race for mayor, jumping in before long-time Mayor Bob Coble announced he would not seek re-election.

Benjamin's fundraising prowess - during his run for attorney general he raised more than $1 million - instantly stirred speculation he could become the city's first black mayor.

Of course, heavily Democratic Columbia might have had a black mayor before now if not for Coble's long tenure.

Coble, elected in 1990, was easily the longest-serving mayor in the city's history.

He could count on strong support from black voters in racking up easy re-election wins.

"Mayor Coble is a liberal mayor who put together a liberal coalition," Shaw said. "African-Americans may have felt that their interests were being met."

Even if Coble had not been on the scene, a pre-Obama black candidate might have struggled in Columbia without an overwhelming number of black voters, Shaw said.

"Columbia is not Atlanta," he said. "What we lack in South Carolina today is a moderate to liberal white vote."

While Benjamin's win will be touted proudly as another historic "first" by many black residents, Lonnie Randolph, president of the S.C. NAACP, said more work needs to be done before the playing field for black and white residents is equal.

"It's a small step," Randolph said. "We still have some issues here."