National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Providence Branch

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded in 1909. The founders of the organization included famed civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois, journalists Ida B. Wells and Charles Edward Russel, and lawyer-diplomat Archibald Grimké.

The catalyst for the creation of the NAACP came from the Race Riot of 1908 in Springfield, IL. What made the riot so egregious for the NAACP's founders was that it was in the hometown of Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator of slaves. The riots demonstrated to many in the country that there was a great need for the voices of African-Americans to be heard at the national level. A concerned group, including the founders, met in January 1909 in New York City and set the first official meeting of the NAACP to be on February 12, 1909 to commemorate of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln. By 1914, the NAACP had established 50 branches with approximately 6,000 members. Today there are over 300,000 members with 2,000 branches and units throughout the nation

The NAACP has fought for many causes and issues, but two issues that have made the most lasting impact were fighting to change Jim Crow laws and championing desegregation. Among the early causes was the protesting of the film Birth of a Nation, a highly controversial film that depicted the Ku Klux Klan as noble defenders of white supremancy and that emancipation was a grave mistake. The NAACP had success in fighting disfranchisement by influencing the 1917 United States Supreme Court ruling in the Buchanan vs. Warley case. The court ruled that state and local governments cannot officially segregate African-Americans into separate residential districts.

The NAACP also fought against desegregation and legislation designed to promote separate but equal practices. Perhaps the most famous victory came in 1954 when NAACP lawyer and future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall argued before the Supreme Court over racial injustice in Brown vs. Board of Education. The Court ruled unanimously that state-sponsored segregation of elementary schools was unconstitutional. After the ruling, the NAACP would continue its fight against inequality by organizing the bus boycotts in Montgomery, Alabama.

The Providence branch of the NAACP is one of the earliest branches having been formed between 1910 and 1911. The stated mission of the Providence branch is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of the rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination. Among the most prominent members from the era of the collection include President Bernardino Delgado and Secretary Claire H. Read. Delgado worked tirelessly to advocate for African-Americans in Rhode Island in seeking housing, education and employment opportunities, while Read documented the organization's activities.

From the guide to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Providence, Rhode Island Branch collection, 1914-1974, (bulk 1969-1974), (Phillips Memorial Library, Special and Archival Collections)