On February 12th, 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons, and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination. As America's oldest and largest civil rights organization, it began in New York City with an interracial group of activists, among them Mary White Ovington, Henry Moskowitz, William English Walling, Oswald Garrison Villard, W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida Wells-Barnett, Archibald Grimke and Mary Church Terrell. A response to ongoing violence against Afro-Americans, the NAACP advocated for fair legislation, anti-lynching, civil rights rallies and marches, boycotts of discriminatory practices and portrayals, and more. Historic milestones include: The Anti-Lynching Bill (1922); Costigan-Wagner Bill (1935); Voting Rights Act (1965); and "Lift Every Voice and Sing", or the Black National Anthem (first performed in 1900) . Today the organization has approximately 2,200 branches across the country, and more than 500,000 members throughout the world.

The following articles are drawn from Proquest Historical Newspapers, which informs and inspires classroom teaching and learning.

• NAACP Has Successful Record In Struggles For Racial Rights. (1945, Sep 01). New Journal and Guide (1916-2003)

• Major Strides Made Under NAACP Banner Since 1909. (1954, Jun 19). New York Amsterdam News (1943-1961)

• NAACP Observes 50 Years Of Fighting For Rights(2): On Threshold Of Complete Victory NAACP Pioneers. (1959, Feb 14). The Chicago Defender (National Edition) (1921-1967)

• Hall, C. B. (1976, Nov 14). The Best Way To Thank the NAACP Is To Join. The Sun (1837-1995)

• NAACP Founded In 1909. (1977, Nov 26). New York Amsterdam News (1962-1993)

• Highlights Of NAACP History: 1909. (1982, Feb 06). New York Amsterdam News (1962-1993)

• Tapley, M. (1982, Apr 01). The NAACP: Civil Rights Barometer. Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2005)

• NAACP Was Founded 75 Years Ago At Cooper Union In New York. (1984, Jan 07). Afro-American (1893-1988)

• NAACP--Reassessing Its Role. (1985, Jul 11). The Christian Science Monitor (1908-Current File)

• NAACP: Black Labor's Best Ally: The NAACP. (1989, Feb 25). New Pittsburgh Courier (1981-2002)

• Highlights of NAACP History: 1909. (1990, Jul 05). Los Angeles Sentinel (1934-2005)

• Johnson, L. (1992, Nov 06). NAACP Is Fighting Desperately To Save Black Neighborhoods. Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2001)

Tips:

• Alexander, Shawn Leigh. An Army Of Lions: The Civil Rights Struggle Before the NAACP. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, c2012. e-book

• Verney, Kevern and Lee Sartain. Long Is the Way and Hard: One Hundred Years Of the National Association For the Advancement of Colored People. Fayetteville : University of Arkansas Press, c2009. e-book

• Watts, Jill. The Black Cabinet: The Untold Story of Afro Americans and Politics During the Age of Roosevelt. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, c2020. e-book

Images:

• NAACP Seal, Wikimedia Commons
• Special News Slide, Courtesy of the Gottesman Libraries

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