Beneath a mural of a dark-skinned Jesus tending his flock, state Assembly candidate Inez Barron greeted her supporters at a fundraiser on a recent Saturday night at the Reverend Herbert Daughtry’s House of the Lord Church.

Barron, a Democrat who is expected to win the race, was introduced to those gathered by a familiar figure in Brooklyn politics: her husband, outspoken City Councilmember Charles Barron.

“They say this is the post-civil rights era, the post-black era,” Charles Barron told the small, but energized crowd. “We cannot let them post our blackness. Don’t fall for the okee-doke. Don’t let them say we can’t be black and win.”

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In the national election, Democrat presidential nominee Barack Obama has walked a fine line on race, severing ties with the Reverend Jeremiah Wright and the clergyman’s black liberation theology. In the race for the New York’s 40th Assembly District, “liberate East New York” is a rallying cry.

Barring the unexpected, Inez Barron soon will join her husband in elected office. In this overwhelmingly Democratic and minority district, she fought off four other candidates to win the primary with 44 percent of the vote. Her husband’s popularity is widely credited with helping fuel her victory.

Charles Barron, a former Black Panther Party member, is well known around City Hall for his scorching criticism of the Bloomberg administration and his unflinching willingness to bring up issues of race.

‘Can’t Say He is Black’

At the Oct. 25, fundraiser, flyers on the table portrayed the names “Obama” vertically and “Barron” horizontally, linked by the letter B. Although Charles Barron endorsed Obama, he chided the candidate, saying, “He can’t say he is black,” and accusing Obama of avoiding mentioning Martin Luther King.

“I keep waiting for Obama to give me a wink,” he said.

Inez Barron cited the black church and African culture as major influences in her political thinking. She said she also has learned the art of politics from her spouse of 25 years.

“I tell people that I will follow the lead of my husband as an elected activist,” said Inez Barron, co-chair of an Brooklyn political action group called Operation Power.

Her campaign manager, Paul Washington, said that Operation Power has three major goals: reparations, freedom for political prisoners, and ending police misconduct.

‘Kinder, Gentler’ Spouse

Washington said the two Barrons are not quite the same kind of politician. “Inez Barron is a kinder, gentler Charles,” he said.

Inez Barron has a background in education, serving as a teacher and a principal at Public School 41 in Manhattan. She said her leadership in that role came from building consensus, something she hopes she can do in Albany. She said her first order of business in Albany will be to locate the funding for services she said her district was promised but never delivered.

While she’s expected to cruise to victory, not everyone is enamored with the Barrons.

“His approach serves as a negative for the community,” said Winchester Key, a community activist who ran against Inez Barron in the primary and who plans to run for Charles Barron’s Council seat next year. “It scares business away, and it splits the community.”

Inez Barron said voters need to think about their community. “This election, it’s not about Inez or Charles – it’s about us as a collective,” she said.

Her husband said, “Up in Albany, and in City Hall, we are going to give them double-barrel Barron.”