National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and The Voting Rights Act

By Hmorris003

  • NAACP Founded

    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 crisis

    The official monthly news publication of the organization is founded by W.E.B. Du Bois, who is also the publication's first editor. This magazine will go on to cover events and issues relevant to Black Americans throughout the United States. During the Harlem Renaissance, many writers publish short stories, novel excerpts, and poems on their pages.

  • Stoping the film "The Birth of a Nation"

    Following the debut of "The Birth of a Nation" in theaters across the United States, the NAACP publishes a pamphlet titled "Fighting a Vicious Film: Protest Against 'The Birth of a Nation.'" The NAACP calls for the movie to be banned throughout the country. Although protests are not successful in the South, the organization successfully stops the film from being shown in Chicago, Denver, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Kansas City.

  • Protest

    On July 1, 1917, two white policemen were killed in East St. Louis, Ill. The incident sparked a race riot on July 2, which ended with 48 killed, hundreds injured, and thousands of blacks fleeing the city when their homes were burned. On July 28, the NAACP protested with a silent march of 10,000 black men, women, and children down New York’s Fifth Avenue.

  • Landmark report

    The most savage and brutal example of white supremacy was a lynch mob. In 1919 the NAACP published a landmark report, “Thirty Years of Lynching in the United States: 1889-1918.” The report was the foundation used to end this brutal form of political and economic terrorism.

  • Pamphlet published

    The NAACP publishes the pamphlet "Thirty Years of Lynching in the United States: 1898–1918." The report is used to appeal to lawmakers to end the social, political, and economic terrorism associated with lynching.
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    Race Riots

    From May to October 1919, a number of race riots erupt in cities throughout the United States. In response, James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938), a prominent leader in the NAACP, organizes peaceful protests.

  • Scottsboro case

    In 1931, the NAACP offers legal representation to the Scottsboro Boys, nine young adults who are falsely accused of raping two white women. The NAACP's defense brings national attention to the case.

  • Harry Truman

    becomes the first U.S. president to formally address the NAACP. Truman works with the organization to develop a commission to study and offer ideas to improve civil rights in the United States.

  • Brown v. Board

    NAACP Litigation Director Charles Hamilton Houston and its Legal Counsel, Thurgood Marshall, fought 26 cases before the Supreme Court, none more important than Brown v. Board of Education. Brown v. Board is one of the major legal landmarks guaranteeing the right to equality in American society. Education is the key to full citizenship.

  • Rosa Parks

    a local chapter secretary of the NAACP, refuses to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Her actions set the stage for the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The boycott becomes a springboard for organizations such as the NAACP, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and Urban League to develop a national civil rights movement.
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    NAACP

    The NAACP plays a pivotal role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Through cases fought and won in the U.S. Supreme Court as well as grassroots initiatives such as the Freedom Summer, the NAACP appeals to various levels of government to change American society.

  • Voting Rights Act

    The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 during President Johnson’s administration were milestone achievements, and the NAACP’s role in these victories cannot be minimized. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 provided direct federal enforcement to remove literacy tests and other devices that had been used to disenfranchise African Americans.