Black leaders go after Lieberman

HARTFORD, Conn., Oct. 12 (UPI) -- A black leader in Connecticut has accused U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, running as an independent, of lying about his involvement in the civil rights movement.

Lieberman in turn accused his Democratic opponent of taking advantage of distortions of his record.

Henry Parker, the state's former treasurer, made the accusation of lying at a news conference Wednesday, the Hartford (Conn.) Courant said. Parker and other black leaders have endorsed Ned Lamont, who defeated Lieberman in the Democratic primary. Lamont was also at the news conference.

The Connecticut Federation of Black Democratic Clubs put out an ad accusing Lieberman of using the civil rights movement for political gain. But the ad stopped short of saying he misrepresented his own activities, the Courant said.

Lieberman says that he was at the 1963 March on Washington, which occurred while he was an intern in the city, and spent a week that fall working on a voter rights project in Jackson, Miss.

"There are many others who contributed and risked much more than I did," he said. "I never put a medal on myself. But was I there? You bet your life I was there."