A national Hispanic civil rights organization said it opposes the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court because of his "callous disregard" for the rights of Hispanics while head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The National Council of LaRaza said Thursday that 21 of the 26 members of its board of directors voted to oppose Thomas, while two voted to support him and three abstained.It was only the third time in the organization's 23-year history that it has taken a stand on a judicial nominee. It successfully opposed the 1987 nomination of Robert Bork to the high court and this year helped defeat Miami Judge Kenneth Ryskamp in his bid to become a judge on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
"It is highly unusual for t he NCLR to take a position on a judicial nomination," said Tony Salazar, chairman of the board of directors. "In this case, however, the board's sentiment is clear. We could not avoid taking a stand against this nominee, who has demonstrated callous disregard for the civil rights of Hispanics during his tenure as chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission."
Thomas, 43, was head of the EEOC for eight years during the Reagan administration. He has been a federal judge in Washington since March 1990.
NCLR President Raul Yzaguirre said, "Hispanics who suffered employment discrimination had trouble even getting into Clarence Thomas's agency. Once inside, their cases were likely to be thrown out. Those lucky few that remained were less likely than others to be represented in court by the EEOC.
"Finally, even those Hispanics who prevailed in court were compensated at lower levels than other groups," Yzaguirre said. "It is hard to avoid the conclusion that, under Clarence Thomas, the nation's most important civil rights agency was itself guilty of discriminating against the Hispanic community. No one with such an egregious record is qualified to serve on the nation's highest court."
NCLR consists of 139 community-based organizations serving some 2 million Hispanics yearly.
Special interest groups have continued to state their position on Thomas since he was nominated by President Bush July 1 to replace the retiring Justice Thurgood Marshall.
Thomas's Senate confirmation hearings are scheduled to begin Sept. 10.