3.2 The founding of the NAACP and other civil rights organizations

The NAACP, or the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, is a civil rights organization founded in 1909 to fight for racial equality and eliminate discrimination against African Americans. The organization played a crucial role in challenging Jim Crow laws, advocating for civil rights legislation, and addressing issues such as lynching, disenfranchisement, and segregation.

Civil Rights Act: A landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, which was essential in advancing the goals of the NAACP.

Lynchings: The illegal execution of individuals by a mob, often racially motivated, that was a significant issue the NAACP sought to combat through advocacy and public awareness campaigns.

Thurgood Marshall: A prominent civil rights lawyer who served as the chief counsel for the NAACP and played a key role in landmark cases like Brown v. Board of Education, which ended racial segregation in public schools.

The National Urban League is a historic civil rights organization founded in 1910, aimed at improving the social and economic conditions of African Americans in urban areas. Its mission focuses on economic empowerment, educational opportunities, and equal access to jobs, all of which connect deeply to the broader struggles against racial violence, the founding of other civil rights organizations, the hardships of the Great Depression, and the ongoing urban crisis faced by African Americans.

Civil Rights Movement: A social movement in the United States aimed at ending racial discrimination and ensuring equal rights for African Americans, especially during the 1950s and 1960s.

Economic Opportunity Act: A law enacted in 1964 as part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society program, aiming to eliminate poverty by providing job training and economic development.

Lynching: A form of extrajudicial punishment often targeting African Americans in the U.S., characterized by mob violence and public executions, especially prevalent in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Legal challenges refer to disputes or issues brought before a court regarding the interpretation or enforcement of laws. In the context of civil rights organizations, these challenges are crucial as they serve as a means to combat discrimination, unjust laws, and systemic inequalities faced by marginalized communities. Legal challenges often become a strategy for organizations like the NAACP to fight for justice and equality, highlighting the significance of the judicial system in advancing civil rights.

Civil Rights Movement: A social and political movement aimed at ending racial discrimination and securing equal rights for African Americans, particularly during the 1950s and 1960s.

Litigation: The process of taking legal action; in this context, it involves pursuing cases in court to challenge discriminatory laws or practices.

Judicial Review: The power of courts to assess whether a law is in compliance with the constitution; this is often a key component in legal challenges.

Lobbying is the act of influencing government officials and policymakers to enact legislation or policies that favor a particular group or cause. This practice is often carried out by individuals or organizations, known as lobbyists, who seek to sway decision-makers through various means, such as providing information, persuasive arguments, or campaign contributions. Lobbying plays a critical role in shaping laws and regulations, particularly in relation to civil rights and social justice efforts.

Advocacy: The active support or recommendation for a particular cause or policy, often aimed at influencing public opinion or government decisions.

Political Action Committee (PAC): An organization that collects and distributes contributions to political candidates and parties, often focusing on specific issues or interests.

Grassroots Campaigning: A form of activism that seeks to mobilize ordinary citizens to participate in advocacy efforts, typically involving direct engagement with local communities and officials.

Community mobilization refers to the process of bringing together individuals and groups to take collective action toward a common goal, often in response to social, economic, or political issues. This strategy involves raising awareness, building leadership, and fostering collaboration among community members, which is essential for promoting change and achieving civil rights objectives.

Grassroots activism: A form of activism that originates from the community level, relying on the efforts and involvement of ordinary citizens to create social or political change.

Advocacy: The act of supporting a cause or proposal, often involving lobbying decision-makers to influence policies and practices that affect a community.

Coalition building: The process of forming alliances between different groups or organizations to work together toward shared objectives, enhancing their collective strength.

Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation under the doctrine of 'separate but equal.' This ruling legitimized Jim Crow laws and reinforced systemic discrimination against African Americans, impacting various aspects of civil rights and social justice in America.

Separate but Equal: A legal doctrine established by Plessy v. Ferguson that permitted racial segregation as long as the separate facilities were considered equal in quality.

Jim Crow Laws: State and local statutes enacted in the Southern United States that enforced racial segregation and disenfranchised African Americans from the post-Reconstruction era until the Civil Rights Movement.

Civil Rights Movement: A social and political movement during the 1950s and 1960s aimed at ending racial discrimination and securing equal rights for African Americans, eventually leading to significant legal and legislative changes.

W.E.B. Du Bois was a prominent African American scholar, civil rights activist, and co-founder of the NAACP, known for his advocacy for political and social equality for African Americans. His work challenged the prevailing racial attitudes of his time and addressed issues like segregation, disenfranchisement, and economic disparities.

Talented Tenth: A concept introduced by Du Bois that emphasized the leadership role of the top ten percent of educated African Americans in uplifting the entire race.

NAACP: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, co-founded by Du Bois in 1909 to fight for civil rights and eliminate racial discrimination.

Double Consciousness: A term coined by Du Bois to describe the internal conflict experienced by marginalized groups, particularly African Americans, in a society that devalues their identity.

Ida B. Wells was a prominent African American journalist, activist, and suffragist born in 1862 who is best known for her anti-lynching campaign and her fight for civil rights. She used her investigative journalism skills to expose the brutal realities of racial violence and injustice in the post-Reconstruction South, becoming an important figure in the struggle against lynching and for social justice. Her work laid the groundwork for later civil rights movements, particularly through her involvement in founding organizations that sought to promote equality and address racial issues.

Lynching: A form of extrajudicial punishment where individuals, often African Americans, were hanged or killed by mobs without legal authority, primarily as a means of enforcing racial control.

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP): A civil rights organization founded in 1909 aimed at fighting discrimination and advocating for the rights of African Americans through legal challenges and public advocacy.

Suffrage Movement: A social and political movement aimed at securing voting rights for women, in which Wells was actively involved, advocating for both women's and African Americans' rights.

The Springfield Race Riot of 1908 was a violent conflict that erupted in Springfield, Illinois, stemming from racial tensions and false accusations against African Americans. This riot resulted in the deaths of several individuals, significant property damage, and highlighted the pervasive racism and social injustice faced by Black communities in the early 20th century. The riot served as a catalyst for the founding of the NAACP and other civil rights organizations, as it exposed the urgent need for advocacy and change in the treatment of African Americans.

NAACP: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, founded in 1909 to fight for civil rights and against racial discrimination through legal challenges and public awareness campaigns.

Racial Tensions: Conflicts arising from prejudice and discrimination based on race, which were prevalent in many American cities, particularly during the early 20th century.

Lynching: An act of violence, often fatal, carried out by a mob to punish or intimidate individuals accused of crimes, particularly targeting African Americans during this period.

Federal anti-lynching legislation refers to proposed laws aimed at making lynching a federal crime in the United States, targeting the systemic violence and racial terror inflicted primarily upon African Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These legislative efforts were part of a broader civil rights movement response to rampant racial violence and were crucial for organizations advocating for racial equality, such as the NAACP, which sought to eradicate lynching and protect African American lives through federal intervention.

NAACP: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, a civil rights organization founded in 1909 that played a key role in advocating for African American rights and lobbying for anti-lynching legislation.

Lynching: An extrajudicial killing, often by a mob, used as a form of racial terror against African Americans, particularly in the southern United States.

Civil Rights Act of 1964: A landmark piece of federal legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin, which built upon earlier civil rights efforts including anti-lynching campaigns.

The Crisis was a significant African American publication that served as the official magazine of the NAACP, founded in 1910. It aimed to address and articulate the struggles, hopes, and aspirations of African Americans during a time of severe racial discrimination and violence, making it a crucial platform for promoting civil rights and cultural expression.

NAACP: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, established in 1909, is one of the oldest and most influential civil rights organizations in the United States, focusing on fighting for social justice and equality for African Americans.

Lynching: An act of violence in which a mob takes the law into its own hands to execute someone without a legal trial, commonly targeting African Americans during the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a method of racial terror.

Harlem Renaissance: A cultural, social, and artistic explosion centered in Harlem during the 1920s, where African American artists, writers, and musicians celebrated their heritage and sought to redefine their identity in a racially oppressive society.

Buchanan v. Warley was a landmark Supreme Court case decided in 1917 that ruled against racially restrictive housing ordinances, stating that such laws violated the Fourteenth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law. This case is crucial because it challenged discriminatory practices in housing, setting a precedent for future civil rights efforts and highlighting the systemic racism that fueled racial violence and segregation during this time.

Fourteenth Amendment: An amendment to the United States Constitution ratified in 1868, granting citizenship and equal protection under the laws to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S.

Restrictive Covenants: Legal clauses in property deeds that prevent the owner from selling to individuals of certain races or ethnicities, reinforcing segregation in housing.

Civil Rights Movement: A social movement during the 1950s and 1960s aimed at ending racial discrimination and ensuring equal rights for African Americans, building upon earlier legal victories like Buchanan v. Warley.

The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is a white supremacist hate group that was founded in the United States in the aftermath of the Civil War. This organization is notorious for its violent acts of racism, targeting African Americans and other minority groups, as well as promoting nativism and anti-immigrant sentiments. The Klan has evolved through several phases, but its core mission has been to maintain white supremacy and resist civil rights advancements, often clashing with civil rights organizations like the NAACP.

Civil Rights Movement: A social movement in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s aimed at ending racial discrimination and promoting equal rights for African Americans.

NAACP: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, an organization founded in 1909 to fight for civil rights and eliminate race-based discrimination.

Jim Crow Laws: State and local laws enacted in the Southern United States that enforced racial segregation and disenfranchised African Americans from the late 19th century until the civil rights movement.

Jim Crow laws were state and local statutes enacted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans in the Southern United States. These laws created a system of institutionalized racism, shaping various aspects of daily life, including education, transportation, and public accommodations.

Segregation: The enforced separation of different racial groups in a country, community, or establishment, often manifesting in schools, public spaces, and housing.

Plessy v. Ferguson: A landmark Supreme Court case from 1896 that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the doctrine of 'separate but equal.'

Civil Rights Movement: A social and political movement during the 1950s and 1960s aimed at ending racial discrimination and securing equal rights for African Americans.

Accommodationism is an approach within the African American civil rights movement that advocates for adapting to and working within existing social and political systems rather than directly confronting or challenging them. This strategy emphasizes gradual change, compromise, and integration into the broader society, aiming to achieve equality through cooperative means rather than through confrontation.

Booker T. Washington: An influential African American leader who promoted accommodationism, advocating for vocational education and economic self-reliance as a means for Black Americans to gain respect and improve their status.

Civil Rights Movement: A pivotal movement in the United States aimed at ending racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans, which included various strategies such as accommodationism and direct action.

NAACP: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, founded in 1909, which pursued civil rights through legal challenges and advocacy, often contrasting with accommodationist approaches.

Confrontational activism refers to a direct and often aggressive approach to social and political change, where activists challenge established systems and practices in a bid to draw attention to injustices. This method is characterized by its willingness to provoke, disrupt, and confront authorities or institutions that uphold discrimination and inequality, particularly as seen in movements for civil rights. This style of activism was pivotal in galvanizing support and mobilizing communities to demand systemic change during crucial historical moments.

Civil Disobedience: A form of protest where individuals deliberately break laws they consider unjust to bring attention to social issues.

Direct Action: A strategy used by activists to achieve their goals through immediate, often confrontational methods, rather than through traditional political channels.

Grassroots Movements: Community-based efforts that seek to enact change from the ground up, often using confrontational tactics to challenge larger structures.