Kweisi Mfume

     Mfume said, "We regret the decision by the president and the secretary of state to unilaterally withdraw from the conference on racism in Durban. We recognize the troubling aspect of some parts of the conference, but it is better for nations to come together and to reasonably disagree than to stay apart and never talk."
     Washington Bureau Chief Hilary Shelton represented the NAACP at the conference. On Monday September 3, the United States and Israel walked out on conference talks to demonstrate their disapproval of a condemnation of Israel with regard to the nation's treatment of the Palestinians.
     Mfume earlier expressed his disappointment that Secretary of State Colin Powell would not be participating in the conference in South Africa saying, "As the bulwark of democracy, the United States has a larger role in setting an example for the rest of the world by demonstrating its opposition to racism."
     The conference on racism opened to representatives of 166 nations on August 31 and is scheduled to continue until September 7.
     Founded in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the nation's oldest and largest civil rights organization.
     Its half-million adult and youth members throughout the United States and the world are the premier advocates for civil rights in their communities and monitor equal opportunity in the public and private sectors.