NAACP President Mfume says he thinks that it is time to stop bashing Justice Clarence Thomas

Jet, March 3, 1997

Kweisi Mfume, the head of the NAACP, says he has had enough of the picketing and protesting of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

"I don't think we can ever change Clarence Thomas, and I don't want to spend any more of my time or NAACP time trying," Mfume said of Thomas, a conservative jurist and the only Black member of the high court.

"I think we must end the Clarence Thomas fixation in our community and use that energy to change things we can change around us," Mfume said just before the recent meeting of the NAACP's board of directors in New York City.

Some members of the civil rights organization have criticized Mfume for scolding the Maryland state chapter when it threatened to protest a Thomas speech scheduled in January in Delaware.

The Maryland branch called Thomas an inappropriate role model for Black youth, and the justice eventually canceled the January speech that had been scheduled for a youth festival.

Mfume said he understands the frustrations of many regarding Thomas, but that it's time for Black activists to move on to other issues.

"I'm not saying we can't protest, but when was the last time we addressed the spread of AIDS in the community or the growing problem of suicide among Black men?" Mfume said.

Hanley Norment, president of the NAACP's Maryland State Conference, said he believes Mfume is trying to limit his own right to free expression.

"I have no idea why (Mfume) wants to pick this fight with us," Norment said. "I know other issues are out there, but who said we can't discuss them and picket Justice Thomas?"

Thomas has been roundly criticized by Blacks for ruling with the Supreme Court majority in cases that have imperiled majority Black voting districts, affirmative action and school desegregation.

Meanwhile, at the organization's board meeting, Mfume announced that the group was launching a five-year, $50 million endowment so the NAACP would not ever be subject to the whims of funding sources "who might not like what we have to say."

"Never again will the NAACP find itself near financial ruin," Mfume said.

Though nearly $4 million in debt two years ago, Mfume said the group finished last year with a $2 million surplus.

Said Myrlie Evers-Williams, chairwoman of the NAACP, "We reached the point from two short years ago where we can now hold our heads high."

Mfume announced that no issue would be beyond the scope of NAACP comment and lobbying efforts--including police brutality, substandard education and bank redlining.

He also said the organization is pushing for confirmation of Alexis Herman as U.S. Secretary of Labor. "We are hoping this nomination will not be withdrawn," said Mfume at a press conference after the meeting. "The NAACP wants to be part of the pressure vehicle on this issue."