NAACP

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Civil rights organization in the United States

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
File:NAACP logo.svg
Formation	12, 1909 (1909-02-12)
Type	Nonprofit organization
Headquarters	Baltimore, Maryland
Membership
Language
Leader title	President
Leader name	Derrick Johnson
Website	[naacp.org naacp.org]

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du Bois, Mary White Ovington, Moorfield Storey, and Ida B. Wells. The NAACP's mission in the 21st century is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination."

History

The NAACP was founded on February 12, 1909, the centennial anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. The organization was established in response to the ongoing violence against African Americans around the country. The NAACP's early work included efforts to end lynching and to fight Jim Crow laws that enforced racial segregation.

Key Figures

The NAACP has been led by many prominent figures in the civil rights movement. W. E. B. Du Bois was one of the organization's founders and served as the editor of its magazine, The Crisis. Thurgood Marshall, who later became the first African American Supreme Court Justice, served as the head of the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund and was instrumental in the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education.

Major Campaigns and Legal Victories

The NAACP has been involved in numerous significant campaigns and legal battles throughout its history. Some of the most notable include:

• The fight against lynching in the early 20th century.
• The legal battle against school segregation, culminating in the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954.
• The campaign for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Structure and Organization

The NAACP is structured with a national office and local branches throughout the United States. The national office is located in Baltimore, Maryland. The organization is governed by a board of directors and has various committees focused on different aspects of civil rights work.

Current Activities

Today, the NAACP continues to focus on issues such as voter suppression, police brutality, and economic inequality. The organization also works to promote education and healthcare access for African Americans and other marginalized communities.

Related Pages

• Civil rights movement
• W. E. B. Du Bois
• Thurgood Marshall
• Brown v. Board of Education
• Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Jim Crow laws
• Lynching in the United States

See Also

• National Urban League
• Southern Christian Leadership Conference
• Congress of Racial Equality
• Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee