Clarence Thomas and the NAACP

The elitist organizations claiming to represent blacks, women, labor, etc. are more representative of the people who fund them than the people they claim to represent (“Endorsement of Thomas Sparks Rift in NAACP,� Part A, Aug. 9). These groups are led by well-educated leftists with a personal stake in strong central control of their “constituents.� This explains the tendency of the left toward the vigorous enforcement of politically correct thinking.

I challenge the statement of Times staff writer Andrea Ford that the national board of the NAACP waited until after its national convention to vote on Thomas’ nomination “until it had looked further into Thomas’ background.� They waited because the NAACP leadership never had the support of most black people on this issue.

Furthermore, The Times should stop looking to national groups claiming to represent blacks for the black viewpoint. The black viewpoint can be found in black communities, local organization and, most especially, the black churches.

It is ironic that if Clarence Thomas is rejected, a fine, principled, articulate black man who has overcome discrimination all his life will have been denied the final step of a great career by the national board of the NAACP.

TOM BLAIR, San Pedro