CANCELED ENGAGEMENT FUELS CONTROVERSY OVER THOMAS, FREE SPEECH.Byline: Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. It might seem odd that a black man who sits on the nation's highest court could be disinvited from speaking to a mostly black class of schoolchildren schoolchildren school npl → écoliers mpl; (at secondary school) → collégiens mpl; lycéens mpl schoolchildren school in a suburb of the capital city. But when it comes to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, his staunchly conservative views and the passionate opposition those views rouse in many blacks, this fresh controvery is simply another chapter. ``He puts you in an uneasy position,'' said Barbara Boyd, the first and only black mayor of Cleveland Heights in Ohio. She opposed the contentious Thomas nomination in 1991. ``I dislike everything the man stands for. He turned out to be worse for black people than a lot of us feared,'' said Boyd. ``But can you tell him he doesn't have the right to speak somewhere? I'm not to sure about that.'' Roger Wilkins, a history professor at George Mason University Named after American revolutionary, patriot and founding father George Mason, the university was founded as a branch of the University of Virginia in 1957 and became an independent institution in 1972. , was also opposed to Thomas' views and called his nomination ``the most cynical thing Bush did as president.'' But when the cherished matter of free speech crops up, Wilkins like Boyd, puts personal feelings about Thomas aside. ``It's absurd to say he can't speak somewhere. I don't think we can get into the business of censoring someone's speech,'' Wilkins said. An invitation to Thomas to speak - then the retraction In the law of Defamation, a formal recanting of the libelous or slanderous material. Retraction is not a defense to defamation, but under certain circumstances, it is admissible in Mitigation of Damages. Cross-references Libel and Slander. and then perhaps the restoration of that invitation - is at the center of the latest row involving the controversial jurist A judge or legal scholar; an individual who is versed or skilled in law. The term jurist is ordinarily applied to individuals who have gained respect and recognition by their writings on legal topics. jurist n. . Thomas was asked to speak at a June 10 awards ceremony for eighth graders at Thomas G. Pullen Creative and Performing Arts School in Maryland's Prince George's County. But school board member Kenneth E. Johnson threatened to organize a protest if Thomas appeared, arguing that Thomas' vote in several court decisions on issues including voting rights Voting rights The right to vote on matters that are put to a vote of security holders. For example the right to vote for directors. voting rights The type of voting and the amount of control held by the owners of a class of stock. , affirmative action affirmative action, in the United States, programs to overcome the effects of past societal discrimination by allocating jobs and resources to members of specific groups, such as minorities and women. and school desegregation The attempt to end the practice of separating children of different races into distinct public schools. Beginning with the landmark Supreme Court case of brown v. board of education, 347 U.S. 483, 74 S. Ct. 686, 98 L. Ed. have hurt minority causes. Fearing the protest, the school superintendent withdrew the invitation but seemed to extended it again a day later when other school board members said they wanted Thomas to appear. On Friday, the invitation was still up in the air. Thomas has not said whether he would speak if invited again. For many blacks, the issue pits the principle of free speech against the concept of isolating minority opinion within the community. Tony Brown, a conservative author and host of a PBS PBS in full Public Broadcasting Service Private, nonprofit U.S. corporation of public television stations. PBS provides its member stations, which are supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by commercials, with educational, cultural, television show, said those who wish to silence Thomas should realize that some universally revered leaders of the past weren't always popular. ``Martin Luther King was out of step with many Negro leaders when he opposed the war of Vietnam. When he died he wasn't at the top of the polls,'' Brown said. ``Maybe in 50 years we will embrace Thomas' philosophy - maybe we'll learn he was harming us, but we can't shut him up.'' Brown said some blacks have made it ``open season on Clarence Thomas'' because he isn't wed to traditional civil rights dogma. ``I wonder if the people who opposed his talk would have done the same thing to Louis Farrakhan,'' Brown said. |
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