The next pope will be an African, according to rumors. There are 13 cardinals in Africa. THe favorite seems to be Cardinal Francis Arinze from Nigeria. If this happens, he'll be the first pope from Africa since Pope Gelasius I, who led the church between 492 and 496 when early Christians were struggling to convert a pagan Europe. It is not known if he was black since he was from North Africa.
Arinze is a staunch conservative, more so than John Paul. He assets are that he is a third worlder, who comes from a majority Muslim nation and can thus go nose to nose with Isam. His liability; he's black