Urban League Chief Doubts GOP Wooing of Blacks

National Urban League President John E. Jacob on Sunday lashed out at the Republican Party, saying he questioned its claims of trying to woo black voters in this year’s presidential election.

Jacob said at a news conference opening the group’s four-day national meeting that presumed GOP presidential nominee George Bush declined an invitation to address the gathering, “just as Ronald Reagan didn’t come in 1984.”

“That makes you wonder about the sincerity of claims to try to get black support in 1988,” he said. “It makes you wonder about the wisdom of the advice he’s getting.

“And it makes you wonder whether a candidate who refuses to come to the Urban League’s annual meeting will be a President who refuses to let the Urban League come to the White House.”

‘Everyone but Blacks Cheered’

In remarks prepared for his keynote address Sunday night, Jacob continued his criticism of the GOP.

“Eight years ago Ronald Reagan rode into town, and everyone but blacks cheered,” he said. “Americans have now discovered why blacks weren’t waving their hats. . . .”

On Saturday, Bush spokesman Mark Goodin said a scheduling conflict prevented the vice president from accepting the invitation. He said Bush plans to spend this week considering potential running mates and will deliver a major foreign policy speech Tuesday in Chicago.

The Urban League conference will hear from Democratic presidential nominee Michael S. Dukakis today and the Rev. Jesse Jackson on Wednesday.

Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.), a candidate for the GOP presidential nomination during the early days of the 1988 campaign, will be part of a panel discussion on the election Tuesday night. Kemp has been mentioned as a possible running mate for Bush.