CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Blacks are already surging to the polls in parts of the South, according to initial figures from states that encourage early voting — a striking though still preliminary sign of how strongly they will turn out nationwide for Barack Obama in his campaign to become the first African-American president. There have been predictions all year of a record black turnout for Obama. The first actual figures suggest that wasn’t just talk — in North Carolina, blacks make up 31 percent of early voters so far.—-Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at [email protected]