Civil rights activists must look to political means rather than legal methods to continue the fight for equality, the first woman to head the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said yesterday.

Eleanor Holmes Norton, the keynote speaker at the 1990 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation, analyzed both progress and setbacks in the civil rights movement for the crowd in Eisenhower Auditorium.

While the election of Virginia Gov. Douglas Wilder and New York City Mayor David Dinkins into prominent public offices and the emergence of the "first substantial black middle class," signal great steps forward, recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions have dealt crippling blows to the civil rights movement, the Georgetown University law professor said.

"Don't expect the court to hand down majestic decisions any longer," she said at a news conference preceding the speech. Other governmental bodies, such as Congress and state legislatures, and elected officials will be the new advocates of civil rights, said Norton, co-author of the book Sex Discrimination and the Law.

"My evidence is the black vote," she said, explaining that these votes now carry more weight than they did in the 1960s.

Increasing reports of racist crimes and attitudes, particularly on college campuses, are the result of a small, but vocal minority, Norton said. While such groups are capable of extreme violence and bigotry, she said she still has faith in the American people.

Following King's example, America should renew "the search for equality and the determination to make it real," she said.

The audience of more than 1,300 people remained silent during Holmes' speech, but gave her resounding applause at its conclusion.

Charles Clark, assistant director of student programs and services at the Altoona Campus, said the speech issued a challenge to stand behind the ideals of civil rights.

Elizabeth Walker, chapter president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, called the speech "extremely informative, " and said it carried the reminder that "we've got a long way to go" in the fight for civil rights.

"There are still forces out there trying to turn back the hands of time," she said.

The convocation was part of a weeklong University celebration also commemorating the 25th anniversary of King's visit to the University. The event featured a video and audio presentation of the Jan. 21, 1965 speech.

Black-and-white photographs and films of King's Rec Hall appearance accompanied his words, which Vice Provost Grace Hampton said "still ring true a quarter of a century later."

In that speech, King urged the crowd to continue the fight for integration using the "potent weapon" of non-violence.

"We will reflect on his impact, even after his death," said Hampton, who chaired this year's Martin Luther King Planning Committee.

In addition to a trumpet and piano duet by faculty members Robert Howard and Carl Lake, the United Soul Ensemble also performed. Under the direction of Richard Pitt, the group sang several songs, including the hymn "Precious Lord Take My Hand," and ending with the Black National Anthem.

During the anthem, the crowd stood, some raising their fists in the air and singing along, "Let us march on 'til victory is won."

NAACP member Lenard Shotwell said it is important that everyone be educated about and take part in the fight for equal rights.

"The Constitution is for everyone, not just a select group of people, but everyone," he said.