Adam's Mark and NAACP reach settlement

Associated Press WriterBALTIMORE (AP) -- The Adam's Mark hotel chain will pay $2 million to settle claims it discriminated against black guests during a 1999 Florida college reunion, NAACP president Kweisi Mfume said Monday.

The settlement ends an ongoing boycott by the civil rights organization against the company and legal action by the company against those who canceled contracts as part of the boycott.

Five plaintiffs who filed suit against the hotel chain will receive $1 million, other guests who were discriminated against at the reunion will be paid from a $400,000 fund, and four historically black colleges will receive payments ranging from $100,000 to $250,000, Mfume said.

Guests who stayed at the hotel during the event will receive $1,000 each by filing a claim through the Florida attorney general's office, which has a list of 400 guests who stayed at the hotel that weekend, the attorney general's office said.

The hotel chain will also contribute $250,000 to Florida A&M University, $150,000 to Bethune-Cookman College and $100,000 each to Edward Waters College and Florida Memorial College, Mfume said.

The hotel chain has agreed to third-party testing, monitoring by the NAACP and others, and company-wide diversity training, Mfume said.

Adam's Mark has also agreed not to pursue legal action against those who canceled contracts against the hotel as part of a boycott led by the NAACP, Mfume said.

The canceled contracts totaled about $3 million, Mfume said.

Fred S. Kummer III, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the hotel chain, said the company denies it discriminated against the guests, but reluctantly agreed to the settlement to end the ongoing court battle.

The settlement comes a month after a federal judge threw out a discrimination lawsuit filed by Florida officials against the hotel, ruling that the case belongs in state court.

"We would have preferred to go trial last month and be clearly exonerated. However, this thing has been dragging on for long enough and we are somewhat glad to have it behind us," Kummer said.

Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth charged Adam's Mark with violating the state's Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act by not allowing black guests to rent higher quality rooms, making them wear colored wristbands, denying them the same access to facilities and services as white guests, and charging them undisclosed deposits for telephones and movies that were not charged during predominantly white events.

Mfume described the settlement as a victory for the civil rights organization.

"Not just for the NAACP, but for a larger multiracial coalition of organizations and individuals who believe in the cause of civil rights in America. It means that the many days spent marching in picket lines and protest rallies, that work has paid off," Mfume said.

"The public accommodations laws enacted in the early days of the civil rights movement still prevail."