Founded July 1990
City of Mequon
County of Ozaukee
State of Wisconsin
The NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is the oldest, largest and strongest Civil Rights Organization in the United States.
The principle objective of the NAACP is to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of minority group citizens of the United States.
The NAACP is committed to achievement through non-violence and relies upon the press, the petition, the ballot, the courts, and is persistent in the use of legal and moral persuasion in the fact of overt and violent racial hostility.
Foundation:
The NAACP was formed in 1909 in New York City by a group of black and white citizens committed to helping to right social injustices. On February 12, over the signatures of 60 persons, the “call” was issued for a meeting on the concept of creating an organization that would be an aggressive watchdog of Negro liberties, This event marks the founding of the NAACP. The organization was backed by the New York Evening Post.
Founders:
Mary White Ovington, Dr. Henry Moscowitz, Oswald Garrison Villiard, William English Walling, Ida Wells-Barnett and W.E.B. Du Bois led the “call” to renew the struggle for civil and political liberty.
Structure:
The NAACP is a network of more than 2,200 branches covering all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Japan and Germany. They are divided into seven regions and are managed and governed by a National Board of Directors. The NAACP is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. The total membership exceeds 500,000.
Leadership:
Benjamin Todd Jealous is President and Chief Executive Officer and the official spokesperson for the NAACP. The Chair of the Board of Directors is Ms. Roslyn M. Brock.
Programs:
The following is a summary listing of NAACP National Office activities. Research, development, and implementation of these programs is coordinated by professional and administrative staff.
ACT-SO (Academic, Cultural Technological and Scientific Olympics)
Armed Services and Veteran Affairs
Economic Development
Education
Health and Labor
NAACP Henry Lee Moon Library & Archives
Religious Affairs
Voter Education
Youth and College Division
The following departments handle national operations:
Branch and Field Services
Membership
Legal Department
Public Relations
The NAACP Washington Bureau represents one of the primary forces in lobbying for civil rights in the nation’s capital. The bureau’s activities are directed primarily at the Congress, the Executive Branch and governmental agencies. They may be contacted at :
NAACP, Washington Bureau
1025 Vermont Avenue, NW
Suite 1120
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 638-2269
NAACP Overview:
On February 9, 1909, on the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, sixty prominent black and white citizens issued “The Call” for a national conference in New York City to renew “the struggle for civil and political liberty.” A distinguished group of black leaders added their voice to the movement. Principal among these was W.E.B. Du Bois, who was to serve as the sage of black professionals to form the Niagara Movement which drew up an agenda for aggressive action not unlike the group he now joined. Also involved was Ida Wells-Barnett, a young journalist, whose eloquent editorials focused national attention on the epidemic of lynchings. Participants of the conference agreed to work toward the abolition of forced segregation, promotion of equal rights, the protection of law, and an end to race violence. In 1911, that organization was incorporated as The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Working Through the Courts:
The distinctive strategic emphasis of the NAACP-ending discrimination through legal action-evolved during its first twenty years. By assuming the legal challenges that were required to gain full citizenship for blacks, the Association became a formidable force for change in its early years. First in Guinn v. United States, the Supreme Court in 1910 struck down the grandfather clauses of state constitutions as an unconstitutional barrier to voting rights under the Fifteenth Amendment. In 1917, the Court declared as unconstitutional a Louisville ordinance that required blacks to live in certain sections of the city, thus challenging residential segregation through city ordinances. Court decisions to follow, initiated through NAACP lawsuits, nullified restrictive covenants (a clause in real estate deeds that pledged a white buyer never to sell the property to blacks). And in 1923, the court declared that exclusion of blacks from a jury was inconsistent with the right to a fair trial. Thus, in just a few years, formidable obstacles to black voting, integrated communities and integrated juries had been removed through concerted legal action. The Association then widened its scope and faced the next barrier to equal rights and then the next. Case precedents were established.
A Voice for Change:
For 88 years the NAACP, through political pressure, marches, demonstrations and effective lobbying, has served as the voice as well as the shield of minority Americans.
Since the protest of Birth of a Nation in 1915, the NAACP has fought to end the racial stereotypes that create misunderstanding and prejudice. We have worked to change attitudes, laws and institutions for the good of all Americans. It has repeatedly rejected the voices of hate and separatism, seeking to bind old wounds and unify our nation. Today after years of unrelenting struggles, we affirm our commitment to the true American Dream—an integrated society rich in diversity and open equally to all. The struggle continues and we invite all Americans to stand with us—Native American, black and white, Hispanic, young and old, Jew and Gentile, male and female, wherever Americans of good will and decency reside—they are welcome to join our ranks until freedom for all is won
For more information on NAACP History, select the link above:
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE NAACP
