Prometheus 6   

No-Show Equals No Vote, Irate N.A.A.C.P. Hosts Say
By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ

MIAMI BEACH, July 14 � Leaders of the nation's most prominent black civil rights organization attacked three Democratic presidential candidates today for failing to show up for a forum that the group held here at its annual convention.

The six Democratic presidential contenders who did attend the forum by the N.A.A.C.P. appeared on a stage alongside empty chairs with placards bearing the names of the three who did not attend: Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri and Representative Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio.

President Bush did not attend either � a chair was placed on the stage for him, too � but his absence was not unexpected, particularly since he has not been to a convention of the N.A.A.C.P. since he took office.

It was the absence of the Democrats that appeared to cause the biggest stir among the delegates who were attending the meeting of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

"You now have become persona non grata," the N.A.A.C.P president, Kweisi Mfume, said, referring to the candidates who did not attend. "Your political capital is the equivalent of Confederate dollars."

Georgia F. Allen, the president of the Virginia Beach chapter of the N.A.A.C.P, agreed. "I would say to the African-American community nationwide not to even consider voting for any of the candidates who did not attend this forum," she said.