The Associated Press

BALTIMORE - The head of the NAACP said Sunday he planned to personally apologize to U.S. Education Secretary Rod Paige, saying the organization's national office never withdrew a speaking invitation to an Ohio dinner.

Kweisi Mfume, the president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said he was "appalled" when he found out about the snub on Friday. He called the decision by the Ohio State Conference of the NAACP to invite and then uninvite Paige "wrong."

"I will reach out to (Secretary) Paige on Monday morning to personally and publicly apologize for this matter," Mfume said in a statement. "Differences of opinion must never come in the way of common courtesy or common sense."

Paige initially was invited to talk about education reforms.

Paige's office said the invitation was withdrawn Tuesday. "They said, 'Thanks, but no thanks,'" according to Susan Aspey, Paige's press secretary, who said Paige was disappointed.

Ohio NAACP President Sybil Edwards-McNabb said Thursday that national NAACP leaders told her there was an "imbalance" in her slate of convention speakers.

A message was left at the Cleveland office on Sunday, and no home telephone listing could be found for Edwards-McNabb.