As a banker, Johnson appointed both blacks and women to the board of directors of his company.

Mr. Quayle said the leadership conference "can rest assured we will not be deterred" in reaching out to appoint blacks to the Administration.

In his later terms as governor (the last of which ended in 1987), he began appointing blacks to government jobs and extending social services in black communities.

Mr. Daley has appointed blacks in key positions, steered multimillion-dollar developments to black neighborhoods and cleaned up dilapidated sections that had long been neglected.

Mr. Silver appointed blacks to 8 of the 18 Democratic leadership titles, up from 7 in the last session; 6 of the 8 received promotions.

He appointed blacks to high positions, stressed his commitment to provide services to all neighborhoods, tore down public housing projects, and pushed reform of the minority-dominated public schools.

Maryland governors had been slow to appoint blacks to the bench, even though the city was majority African American.

Mr. Edwards's strongest support has historically come from black Louisianians, many of whom consider him the first governor to address their concerns and to appoint blacks to significant jobs.

An outspoken supporter of civil rights, Edwards was the first Louisiana governor since Reconstruction to appoint blacks and women to high positions in his administration.

He disappointed blacks by supporting the Taft administration's policy of not appointing blacks to patronage positions in the states where they resided.