Washington -- Reps. William Clay (Demo) and Louis Stokes (DOH) refused to share an award from the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) with former segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC) at a prescheduled Capitol Hill ceremony.
Clay and Stokes forced the cancellation of a luncheon honoring Thurmond during NAFEO's annual conference here and refused to accept their awards. African-American lawmakers -- all of whom were invited to attend the luncheon but none of whom did -- responded that even a series of good works cannot atone for decades of bigotry, according to a report in Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call. Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS) chose to boycott the awards luncheon. In a letter to, NAFEO interim president Wilma Roscoe, Thompson used the words of Mary McLeod Bethune to make his point: "If we accept and acquiesce in the face of discrimination, we accept the responsibility ourselves and allow those responsible to salve their conscience by believing that they have our acceptance and concurrence."
Thompson, a plaintiff in the college desegregation case, U.S. vs. Fordice, wrote: "I hope that the members of NAFEO sleep well knowing that they are betraying those who died fighting for their rights to have equal educational opportunities." More than a week after the conference concluded, the award, which was never formally offered, continued to incite controversy. In a second missive to Roscoe, Clay compared his civil rights record to that of Thurmond's and outlined appropriations bills aimed at helping HBCUs that have been opposed by Thurmond. Clay wrote: "If your rationale dictates it is necessary to recognize `change,' as some of the [college] presidents have alleged, then in this case you are dealing with `chump change.'"
He added," Some presidents point to Thurmond's support of a resolution designating a week in honor of Black colleges as their excuse. In view of his deplorable past and present record in the field of civil rights, I find that explanation disgraceful and repulsive."
