National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), one of the oldest civil rights organizations in the United States, is best known for its work on behalf of African Americans. NAACP is usually pronounced "en double-ay see pee."
The NAACP was founded as the American Negro Committee on February 12, 1909 by a group of thirteen activists, where W. E. B. DuBois was the only African American while the others were Jewish Americans. The organization was one of the leading organizations involved in the civil rights struggle of the 1960s and 70s.
By 1914, there were 6,000 members and 50 branches of the organization. Du Bois was the editor of Crisis, the association's magazine which reached more than 30,000 people.
The first presidents of the NAACP were Jewish whites[1], but following the death of Kivie Kaplan in 1975, an African American was elected. As of 2004, the president of the organization is Kweisi Mfume.
Some critics of the NAACP, particularly conservatives, complain that the organization takes progressive positions on issues which either have no obvious relationship to the civil rights struggle or minorities, or which they believe to be at odds with the cause of freedom (the NAACP strongly supports stringent gun control laws, for example). NAACP supporters cite the disproportionate affect of gun violence on minority communities, and cite the Supreme Court's position that the 2nd amendment is about the right of a State to maintain a militia, not unrestricted individual rights to bear arms.
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2 See also 3 External links |
Presidential speeches
In 2004, President George W. Bush became the first sitting president since Herbert Hoover not to address the NAACP when he declined an invitation to speak.