Court Nominee Key Topic as NAACP Meeting Opens : Civil rights: Delegates argue whether to support Thomas. Organization may delay endorsement decision.

As delegates arrived here Sunday for the NAACP’s annual meeting, its leaders argued over whether to support President Bush’s nomination to the Supreme Court of federal Judge Clarence Thomas, a black who has been critical of affirmative action and other issues supported by the nation’s largest civil rights organization.

Executive Director Benjamin L. Hooks opened the weeklong convention. In his keynote address, he said he is disappointed that the Supreme Court has turned its back on civil rights issues during the last decade.

“The series of reactionary right-wing decisions from the U.S. Supreme Court has eroded, rolled back, damaged and even demolished much that we had thought had been won,” he said in prepared remarks.

Hooks also praised Justice Thurgood Marshall, the former legal counsel to the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People, noting that Marshall’s recently announced resignation “saddens those of us who had come to look to him for clear, lucid and sensitive compassionate decisions.”

But Hooks declined to say whether his group would lead a fight against confirmation of the conservative Thomas, saying that the organization is “in the process of examining Judge Thomas’ record with great care in order to arrive at a position.”

Many of those milling about the convention’s vendor displays of African art and kente cloth clothing said that they expect the Thomas nomination to be a point of friction during many of the public and private meetings during the week. Some said that they are actively urging the organization to lead the fight against Thomas, given that his views are almost the direct opposite of many positions the organization has supported.

“Thomas is Bork in blackface,” said one board member, who asked not to be identified. He was referring to federal Judge Robert H. Bork, whose failed nomination to the Supreme Court was derailed by the opposition of the NAACP and other groups. “I don’t see how we can support someone who stands against everything we stand for. I don’t care that he’s black because he’s on the wrong side of the issues.”

But others said they believe Thomas should get the NAACP’s blessing because of his race and because it is unlikely that Bush would nominate another black, should Thomas be rejected by the Senate. Reflecting that view--but not necessarily endorsing it--Hooks said that many blacks are willing to give Thomas a break since “he’s a brother.”

Hooks said that the NAACP may not be able to reach a decision on Thomas during this convention because of the deep division within the organization over the nominee’s record as a judge and head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“I would suspect . . . without having done a poll that there are some differences of opinion among our delegates,” Hooks said, noting that about 20,000 are expected to take part in the convention.

A working session of the NAACP directors is expected to discuss the Thomas nomination and to present an analysis of his judicial opinions and political views to the full, 64-member board, which meets Tuesday. Officials said that the board needs a simple majority to adopt a position on Thomas.

But a source familiar with workings of the NAACP board said Sunday night that Hooks is likely to announce at a news conference this morning that the organization will put off taking a formal position on the Thomas nomination until after the convention ends.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said that, while the board remains uncomfortable endorsing Thomas, it does not want to oppose him aggressively, either. Rather, the source said, the board may defer making a decision for about two weeks, citing the need to study the nominee’s record.

A potentially public and bitter dispute thus might be avoided at the convention, the source said. “I can assure you that our decision will not please anyone but it will be the most careful and considerate response we can make at this time,” the source added.

Hooks had told reporters earlier in the day that the Thomas nomination “will occupy the top spot of this convention.” He said that the organization had to study the nominee’s opinions regarding affirmative action, civil rights and rights of criminal suspects.

Policy-making within the NAACP, including endorsing judicial appointments, is an intricate process that incorporates intense lobbying among various factions within the board of directors and rank-and-file members.

Thomas, who has served 16 months as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, was nominated Tuesday by President Bush to replace Marshall, the nation’s only black Supreme Court justice and one of its most liberal members. The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to hear testimony on Thomas’ nomination in September with a confirmation vote likely before the new high court term begins in October.

To date, only abortion-rights activists have expressed opposition to the nomination. But Hooks said that Thomas’ opinion on abortion is not a concern of the NAACP because the group does not consider that a civil rights cause.

“Roe vs. Wade is not an NAACP issue,” Hooks told reporters. “The NAACP is an organization dedicated to civil rights and we have people who feel both ways (about abortion) and therefore we have not taken a position on that.”

Hooks’ keynote address capped the convention’s opening day, which was filled with a series of closed-door meetings. During those meetings, chapter presidents, board members and delegates to the 82nd gathering of the NAACP caucused to set their convention agendas.

In one issue highlighted during his speech, Hooks said that the NAACP will conduct police brutality hearings in Los Angeles and Houston, St. Louis, Miami and Boston.

“This has long been a problem in the black community, but it took the beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles, and the fortunate coincidence that it was captured on videotape, to bring the problem out in the open,” he said.