Kivie Kaplan was born on April 1, 1904 in Boston, Massachusetts, the youngest of three sons of Benjamin and Celia (Solomont) Kaplan.He joined the NAACP in 1932 and was elected to the National Board in 1954. He was elected president in 1966 and served until his death in 1975. This collection contains correspondence and associated materials of Kivie Kaplan, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1966 to 1975. The bulk of the materials are sixteen of Kaplan's letters sent to Harold Gilden, a noted Chicago labor attorney. The letters span the years 1968 to 1971 and provide information about the activities of Kivie Kaplan, while at the NAACP headquarters and speaking to gatherings around the country.Among the people referenced in the letters are Martin Luther King, Jr., the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and prominent civil rights activists in Mississippi and Chicago. The letters also discuss Kaplan's philanthropic activities.The collection also includes eight separately printed items related to the NAACP and the civil rights movement and two NAACP 'Life Member' plaques.
