"Conversely, if a club has made a strong effort to recruit minority membership but is still without minority membership, we will take that into consideration."

"The board felt it was in the best interests of all involved to expand our minority membership," Pittman said.

He became involved in a leadership training program and worked at increasing minority membership on civic boards.

In 1952, the Dartmouth chapter of Theta Chi was derecognized by its national over a dispute regarding minority membership.

Kasten said there were misunderstandings about the participation of blacks in the Lerner group because its minority membership was kept private.

Service club leaders say that minority membership is also increasing.

Mr. Johnson said that minority membership had risen in the Kiwanis Club, which had a black district governor in 1987-1988.

For years the Attorney General's office has pressed Sheet Metal Workers Union Local 28 to increase minority membership.

That would increase minority membership from the current 26 percent to at least 33 percent.

In 1996, the assembly voted to set a goal of raising Presbyterians' minority membership to 10 percent by 2005 and 20 percent by the decade beginning 2010.