200 in Boston Rally To Protest Thomas

BOSTON--More than 200 demonstrators protested the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court at a last-minute rally in Government Center yesterday afternoon, about two hours before the Senate wound up the confirmation process with a 52-48 vote in favor of the Georgia judge.

The news of Thomas's confirmation, which reached the crowd just after 6 p.m., prompted chants of "Shame! Shame!" and demands for equal representation and increased minority participation in public affairs.

Ellen L. Convisser, president of the Massachusetts chapter of the National Organization of Women (NOW), which organized the event, said that NOW received hundreds of phone calls over the Columbus Day weekend. She said that many of the callers expressed concern over the allegations of sexual harassment brought against Thomas by University of Oklahoma law professor Anita F. Hill.

"We are really responding to the requests of the people," Convisser said.

She added that the charges were not the only reason for the rally. "We are here to oppose Clarence Thomas on a range of issues," she said.

Many marchers expressed general dissatisfaction with Thomas. "I think Thomas is across-the-board unqualified," said demonstrator Ken D. Olum, a second-year graduate student at MIT. "I think it'd be a terrible thing if he got on the Court."

The harassment issue, however, remained prominent. Marchers chanted, "One, two, three, four, sexual harassment no more! Five, six, seven, eight, Thomas won't decide our fate." Demonstrators carried signs reading, "Expose the Harassers! No More Victims!" and "We Will Remember in November."

Many defended Hill and said that as a Justice Thomas would present a threat to women's rights. Lori Leonard, a graduate student at the Harvard School of Public Health, said of Hill's story, "There's nothing about it that's atypical or unusual. Many women don't admit [that they have been sexually harassed] until much later."

The rally concluded with comments urging women and minorities to stay involved in public affairs. Boston politico and former mayoral candidate Graylan Ellis-Hagler said. "Our time has come."