NAACP - Its Real Beginning & Its Real Purpose

Before we get started here,I feel it's first necessary to inform you that I'm going to dispel a few myths (created mainly by way of the Internet) regarding the creation of the NAACP.

Myth 1. W.E.B Du Bios was the creator of, and/or one of the inspirational forces in creating, the NAACP. Not true.

Myth 2. Ida Wells was one of the founders of the NAACP. Not true. Her name never appeared as a member of the Executive Committee, or as a founding member either. Nor did she ever write anything in her journalism capacity for the NAACP i.e. she never worked for the NAACP.

Myth 3. The NAACP was inspired by Jews (specifically Henry Moskowitz). Not true. No Jewish person was listed among the original Executive Committee members.

Myth 4. The NAACP was created to make sure that people of African descent received their civil rights in America. Not true. There were no federal civil rights laws in America from 1883 to 1957.

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Okay, let's get started with how the NAACP was really created and it's intended purpose.

1. The Beginning: In 1908, a White female social worker by the name of Mary Ovington claimed to have read an article written by William English Walling describing a recent race riot in Springfield, Ill.. Based on this article, according to Miss Ovington, she became inspired to create an organization that would help those of African descent in America achieve more political representation and economic security.

On Feb. 12, 1909, Miss Ovington (she was a lifelong spinster), along with Oswald Garrison Villard and William English Walling (both White males and Christians) sent out a "Call" letter to everyone they believed would be supportive of an organization that would provide Blacks a new direction: integration.

By May 1910, the future NAACP organizers had held two conferences in New York City. Without question, the purpose of the first conference, which was attended by many Blacks (a "committee of 40" - which likely included Ida Wells), was a desire on the part of the White organizers to see if Blacks would be receptive to the new integration agenda; and, perhaps more importantly, would not protest against the societal anomaly they were suggesting to create. After all, racial integration was a complete contradiction to what did exist in 1910; and Blacks, since 1865, had never protested against the current "separate" living arrangements. After the first conference, which did allay the worries of the White organizers of Black resistance, the next conference was used to choose the name of the new organization, develop an organizational strategy for racial integration and choose its executive board members.

(Mary W. Ovington's original name for the NAACP was 'The 'National Committee for the Advancement of the Negro People')

2. The Purpose: Thus was borne the concept of racial integration, something never before practiced or even conceived of in human history. ¹

Not surprisingly, when the new and revolutionary NAACP was launched, even though it was created and run by White people, it wasn't in any way popular among the numerically and culturally dominant White population. In fact, the agenda was steadfastly rejected by the group. However, this attitude among the White population was likely rooted in simple and logically sound reasoning, that Blacks should be separate, and thereby achieve a feeling of self-reliance and empowerment as a distinct people (Booker T. Washington's desire and pursuit). Mainly for this reason, not one single White philanthropist of the day would offer financial help to the NAACP in its formative years.²

How The NAACP Pursued It's Integration Agenda:: Since the separation of the races was so deep-seeded within the White community, and it was the White population that had created all the urban centers, all the industries, and likely not a single White male in America was employed by a Black man in 1910, it certainly had to be very clear to the organizers of the NAACP that there was no quid pro quo to entice White males to accept racial integration on their own volition. Naturally, given these existing circumstances, using persuasive measures such as literature and speeches to try to convince the White population from coast to coast (including the South) that integration was beneficial for them and they should just voluntarily submit to it, would appear to be a Herculean task necessitating far more in financial resources than the meager funds the NAACP had at its disposal. Therefore, the NAACP settled on a much more economically feasible strategy, which was to use the judicial system (judicial activism) to strike down those laws which apparently allowed for racial separation (i.e. allowed the White population to keep Black males out of what White males regarded as their political and economic arenas). In other words, integration was go to be forced on the White population by judges.

Historical Correction: It is often stated that the NAACP was created because of the 1908 Springfield, Ill. riot, a riot initiated by White males against the city's Black race (the riot's flash-point was the death of a White male, who had found a Black male intruder in his daughter's bedroom, gave chase and was killed during a struggle). It was clearly an ugly riot and surely the White population did desire to drive the Blacks from the city. Two Blacks were lynched (the number of Blacks lynched by White males - perhaps intentionally - equaled the number of White people killed by Back males in the previous few days). However, using this riot as the basis to launch an organization advocating integration of the races as a way to improve relations between the two races just doesn't seem logical. Why launch an organization which desires to integrate Blacks into a racial group where - the NAACP was claiming - there was omnipresent hate and bigotry?

The most likely reason for using the Springfield riot, if one cares to read between the lines, is that Springfield was the recognized birthplace of President Lincoln, the Great Emancipator, and the White organizers of the NAACP were hoping Blacks would equate emancipation with integration.


Mr. DuBois' Contribution: When the NAACP's Executive Committee was created in 1910 (with this committee rested all the power and decision making), only one member of this committee was a Negro: W.E.B. DuBois. Mr. DuBois was given the title of director of publicity and research, and his main duty was to be editor of the Crisis magazine (Miss Ovington's own recounting of the making of the NAACP, she implies she persuaded DuBois to join the organization after it was already established). W.E.B. DuBois does deserve all the credit for disseminating - through the Crisis - the new concept of integration among the Black race; and creating the belief in the mind of particularly the urban Blacks that they did have a Constitutional right to receive - what no male group had ever received in all of human history - integration rights into another male group's established society. By 1917, most northern urban black newspapers were following the lead of the Crisis ... and also demanding that integration was a legitimate right among their people.

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Also, here's a look at today's NAACP (black female): CLICK HERE

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_{1. W.E.B. DuBois' Niagara Movement (1906 to 1909), which never became an actual organization but rather consisted of a number of prominent Black men, had gathered on three separate occasions and did issue a statement demanding that White Americans commit to race-nullification, among other things. The three meetings between 1906 and 1909 produced nothing substantive in improving the prospect of race-nullification from the White population.}

^{2. According to the book "The Chronological History of the Negro", because of a complete lack of funds the NAACP's first four years were devoted almost exclusively to reporting on and lodging complaints about lynching - through the Crisis - and on opening new branches in cities outside of New York City.}