Copyright 2002 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution  

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
July 11, 2002 Thursday Home Edition
SECTION: News; Pg. 5B

LENGTH: 266 words

HEADLINE: NAACP grades Congress harshly

BYLINE: JANITA POE

SOURCE: AJC

BODY:
Houston --- The NAACP on Wednesday gave failing grades to nearly half of all members of Congress on votes important to the civil rights group, from hate crimes and welfare reform to predatory lending.

"The association understands that everybody is not going to support every issue," NAACP President Kweisi Mfume said. "But it would be great if everybody listened and gave full consideration to the facts on these issues."

The group's report card, released during its convention here, is based on 33 Senate votes and 18 House votes in 2002.

Georgia Sen. Max Cleland received an A, while Sen. Zell Miller earned an F. Both are Democrats.

In the House, Democrats Cynthia McKinney rated an A, John Lewis a B and Sanford Bishop a C. The rest of the Georgia delegation, all Republicans, earned F's.

Though the Georgia results suggest an alignment between the NAACP and Democrats, Mfume said the group's support comes from all parts of the country and all political parties. "There has been bipartisan support of the NAACP and there continues to be," Mfume said. "Every Republican is not our enemy and every Democrat is not our friend."

In other action at the convention this week, the NAACP denounced the Inglewood, Calif., police for excessive force in the videotaped arrest of a 16-year-old last week.

"Police brutality is a most egregious act, often committed against African-Americans, Latinos, Asians poor whites and others," Mfume said. "The NAACP demands that the Department of Justice and the FBI investigate the possible civil rights violations" in the Inglewood case.

LOAD-DATE: July 11, 2002