A Brief History
On February 12, 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded by a coalition of White Americans and African Americans. The idea of this organization was conceived originally by 3 White civil rights activists, Mary White Ovington (Unitarian), William English Walling (wealthy, married Jewish woman), and Henry Moskowitz (Romanian Jewish immigrant to US) while meeting in New York. The Race Riot of 1908 in Springfield, Illinois was the impetus for forming the NAACP.
Digging Deeper
(Note: February is Black History Month.)
These Caucasian activists were convinced that White people would have to run an advocacy organization such as the NAACP because they perceived the problem with race relations as caused by White bias and hatred, the source of the problem. In this regard, invitations were sent to 60 prominent Americans thought to be of potential assistance to the cause, with a meeting date of February 12, 1909. This date became the traditional date used as the founding of the NAACP, and was chosen because it was the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. Of course, these founders were smart enough to realize that African American participation was also vital and prominent African American civil rights activists including W.E.B. Dubois, Ida B. Wells, and Archibald Grimke were included. The White people involved in the organization and early conduct of the NAACP had a distinct trend toward being well educated and somewhat well off, as well as a strong Jewish influence. Many of the organizers and early participants had socialist leanings, many had come from abolitionist, workers’ rights, and suffragist backgrounds. Moorfield Storey, a White attorney, was the first president and W.E.B. Dubois was the only African American board member on the initial board. Dubois was in charge of publications.
The NAACP fought the racially discriminatory “Jim Crow” laws common in the US before World War II, and sought to gain education and fair treatment under the law for African Americans. The NAACP brought lynchings to light and sought justice, and allied with labor unions. The creation of the Legal Defense Fund in 1939 was a major development. James Johnson became the first African American secretary in 1920, and in 1934 surgeon Louis Wright became the first African American Chairman of the Board. (No woman has ever headed the NAACP, except temporarily.) The NAACP played a pivotal role as the premier African American advocacy organization during the Civil Rights Era and continues today with over 300,000 members and hundreds of branches.
Question for students (and subscribers): Were you aware of the White influence on the formation and organizing of the NAACP? Do you consider the NAACP the premier advocate and spokesman for the African American community? Please share your thoughts with our readers in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Kellogg, Professor Charles Flint. NAACP: A History of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 1909-1920. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1967.