Justice Thomas Withdraws From Banquet Appearance -- Jan. 8, 1997

FBI Files: Thurgood Marshall Passed Info To Agency -- Dec. 2, 1996

Mfume Wins Converts At NAACP Meeting

NEW YORK (AllPolitics, Feb. 17) -- Though NAACP leader Kweisi Mfume is viewed skeptically by some members of the nation's largest civil rights organization, he may have solidified his position at the group's annual meeting this weekend.

The former Maryland congressman's style has been described as dictatorial and remote, but his rousing speech to conference attendees "clearly won them over," board member Joseph Madison told The Associated Press.

"No more financial shenanigans," Mfume told an increasingly appreciative audience. "No more standing up and finding ways to divide the nation and the board. It's a new day."

Financial mismanagement has plagued the 350,000-member National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Mfume took over at a time the group seemed to have lost its focus on minority rights. But attendees to this year's meeting were optimistic.

"I feel very good about the direction we are headed in," board member Julian Bond told the AP. "We can get back to the business of civil rights."

Added Louisiana national board member Rupert Richardson, "We have undercurrents or ripples of problems, but things are much, much better."