Conservative Blacks, 138 in House Back Thomas for Court
A conservative black group and 138 House members Thursday said they support black judge Clarence Thomas to be a Supreme Court justice, but the Congressional Black Caucus repeated its opposition to him.
The group of black conservative Democrats and Republicans said they represent various educators, ministers and professional organizations in the country who backed Thomas to succeed liberal Justice Thurgood Marshall, who is retiring.
The conservative House members, mainly Republicans joined by a few Democrats, wrote the Senate Judiciary Committee to state their strong support for Thomas.
Among those signing the letter was Rep. Gary Franks of Connecticut, the only black Republican in Congress and the only one of the 26-member Black Caucus to back Thomas.
Several other caucus members held a news conference to say again that Thomas should not be confirmed because of his views against affirmative action programs to hire more blacks and because of positions he took while chairman of the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Confirmation or rejection of Thomas’ nomination is up to the Senate.
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