A Brief History Of The Naacp

The NAACP was founded by on February 12, 1909 by W.E.B. Dubois, Ida Wells-Barnett, Henry Moscowitz, Mary White Ovington, Oswald Garrison Villard, and William English Walling to work for the rights of colored people in response to the 1908 race riot in Springfield. It has worked through the American legal system to fulfill its goals of full suffrage and an end to segregation and racial violence. A series of early court battles, including a victory against a discriminatory Oklahoma law that regulated voting by means of a grandfather clause helped establish the NAACP's importance as a legal advocate. The organization also learned the power of publicity through its 1915 campaign against D. W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation, a movie that glorified the Ku Klux Klan and their actions. Throughout the 1920s the fight against lynching was among the association's top priorities.

During the Great Depression, the NAACP began to focus on economic justice. President Roosevelt agreed to open thousands of jobs to black workers. He also agreed to set up a Fair Employment Practices Committee to ensure fulfillment. Throughout the 1940s the NAACP saw enormous growth in its membership, claiming nearly 500,000 members by 1946. By the 1950s the NAACP's Legal Defense secured the outlawing of

segregation in public schools. The NAACP helped advance the integration of the armed forces in 1948. Also, it helped with the passage of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1964, and 1968, as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965. At the end of the 20th century, the NAACP focused on economic development and educational programs for youths, while continuing its role as legal advocate for civil rights issues. The organization currently has more than 500,000 members.

1. http://www.naacp.org/about/history/timeline/

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