FREE ESSAY ON THE NAACP

THE NAACP

The National Association of the Advancement of Colored People
Almost 500,000 Americans of all races are members of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the largest civil rights organization in the world
and probably the largest secular citizens action agency in the nation. Founded in 1909,
the NAACP is the oldest civil rights organization as well as the most powerful and the
most respected today. The NAACP is the national spokesperson for black Americans and
other minorities, and for those who support civil rights objectives in America. Organized
in virtually every city and town where black Americans reside, the NAACP both articulates
the grievances of black Americans and protects their rights by whatever legal means
necessary (Join the NAACP). Many manners are used by the NAACP to accomplish their policy
goals. Three such manners are grassroots activism, lobbying, and educating.
Marches, protests, canvassing, phone calls, and demonstrations are only a few devices
used by the NAACP in their fight for equal rights (McBride). In October 1998, NAACP
President and CEO Kweisi Mfume and eighteen other activists were arrested during a mass
demonstration to protest the "shameful and hypocritical record" of the Supreme Court
Justices in hiring minority clerks. The protest was held in front of the U.S. Supreme
Court in Washington, D.C., with the crowd shouting "No justice, no peace" ("Activists
Arrested"). The Justices up to that point had hired only seven black Americans out of 428
clerks. Groups that participated in the demonstration included the National Bar
Association, the United Auto Workers, the National Organization for Women, as well as
many others ("Activists Arrested"). Mfume also participated in a protest rally March 18,
1999, in front of New York City's Police Headquarters to decry the police killing of
22-year-old Amadou Diallo, an unarmed immigrant, the previous month. Mfume was expecting
"direct, immediate action by the White House, the U.S. Justice Department and the NY
Mayor's Office" ("NY Protest"). On November 9, 1999, Florida Governor Jeb Bush "empowered
the Board of Regents and the Florida Legislature to do away with Affirmative Action" with
the proposal of the One Florida Initiative (Haggard). A coalition of civil rights, labor,
women's rights, federal and state legislators, and religious leaders called for a March
on Tallahassee in order to demonstrate the amount of support that affirmative action has
in the state. This is only done following a 25-hour sit-in led by Florida State Senator
Kendrick Meek and Representative Tony Hill January 18-19, 2000. That sit-in ended when
Governor Bush agreed to three public hearings on his One Florida Initiative (Haggard).
For Election Day 2000, the Data Retrieval Team (DART) became foot canvassers. This team
was composed of volunteers who walked from house to house putting up door hangers/sample
ballots and trying to influence the people at the doors to vote ("Election"). The homes
targeted were not only those of black Americans, but of other minorities as well
(Hilary).
Since 1914, the NAACP Legislative Report Card has functioned as a presentation of
significant civil rights votes taken in the United States Senate and the United States
House of Representatives. This Report Card is intended to supply citizens with insight
into the general voting habits of their congressional representatives and delegations.
The latest edition contains votes taken from the 106th Congress through July 10, 2000.
The Report Card provides legislation descriptions from both Houses, whether it passed or
failed, and whether the NAACP agreed with or opposed the legislation. It also lists all
Senators and Representatives, whether they voted for or against the NAACP position on
legislation, and a grade based on the percentage of percentage of votes in agreement with
the NAACP. Not surprisingly, most Democrats got A's or B's, and Republicans got D's or
F's. The NAACP Washington Bureau, the department that specializes in lobbying, is in
charge of this Legislative Report Card (Hilary). Since becoming the bureau director in
1997, Hilary Shelton has been responsible for advocating the NAACP agenda in Congress.
The Bureau releases testimony with reference to hearings on certain bills. For example,
they published Harold McDougall's testimony at a hearing about including multiracial
categories in the United States Census. Shelton has been pushing Congress to pass the
Traffic Stops Statistics Study Act introduced by Representative John Conyers (D-MI) as
the first step to produce a "much-needed study" into the problem of police stopping
drivers only because they are black Americans or some other ethnic minority (Hilary). He
calls them "Driving While Black (DWB)" statistics (Hilary). One of the most recent
example of lobbying done by the NAACP is the economic sanctions against South Carolina
began January 1, 2000. Until the Confederate battle flag was removed from atop the
Statehouse, removed from within the House and Senate Chambers, and relegated to a place
of historical context only, the NAACP had its members and supporters—along with
corporations, religious, and civic organizations—postpone or relocate vacations,
family reunions, meetings, conventions, or workshops in the state. The Association feels
that the flag represents "one of the most reprehensible aspects of American history"
(Hilary). After losing well over $100 million in the tourism industry alone, the
Confederate flag was moved, from the location where it had been since 1962, to an area
near the South Carolina Confederate Soldiers Monument (McBride). After the hateful July
20, 2000 murder of Arthur "J.R." Warren, an African-American, gay West Virginia resident,
Hilary Shelton as well as Warren's parents and a coalition of civil rights groups, met
with U.S. Justice Department officials in Washington, D.C. Shelton spoke in strong favor
of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which suggests stronger penalties for persons who
willfully injure anyone because of his or her race, color, religion, gender, national
origin, or sexual orientation. As of now, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act is in serious
jeopardy of being eliminated from the final version of the Department of Defense
Appropriations bill. The local NAACP branch in West Virginia continues to monitor the
case as well as work with the Warren family. The hearings for the two teenagers accused
of the murder are not scheduled until late November and early December 2000 (Hilary).
The NAACP educates the public on issues such as voter empowerment, health, labor,
minority-owned housing, youth and college, and economic development, as well as others.
The Association informs citizens through town hall meetings, conventions and conferences,
special meetings, and newsletters on issues relevant to the minority community. Because
of the NAACP's voter empowerment efforts, history was made in Morgan City, Louisiana with
the Morgan City Get out the Vote (GOTV) Project. During local elections on October 7,
2000, 80% of all registered black America voters in Morgan City made their voices heard.
William Bradford, Jr. became the first African-American elected official since
reconstruction (McBride). On September 12, 2000, in Selma, Alabama, the NAACP held its
breath and waited to find out if its efforts would override the efforts of whites in the
city to stop black Americans from voting in that day's special election that pitted black
businessman James Perkins against Mayor Joe Smitherman, a former segregationist who had
played a role in the hostility and bloodshed Selma had so famously experienced in 1965.
Perkins won, becoming the first black American mayor for Selma. Kweisi Mfume stressed the
importance of registering and voting during an unprecedented radio broadcast of the Tom
Joyner Morning Show (TJMS). The voter empowerment messages delivered throughout the
four-hour, all-talk broadcast galvanized more than 10,000 listeners nationwide to call
the toll-free NAACP Voter Empowerment 2000 Hotline (1-866-YES-VOTE) to register to vote
(McBride). In a collaborative effort, the NAACP, the National Organization of Black Law
Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), and Allstate Insurance Company have joined together to
develop "The Law and You: Guidelines for Interacting with Law Enforcement Officials." The
pamphlet offers suggested procedures to follow if someone—mainly an
adolescent—is stopped by a police officer or law enforcement official, regardless
of the reason. The suggestions are to be used as guidelines until professional legal
advice and guidance can be obtained ("Law and You"). The Legal Department of the NAACP
provides legal advice and representation to the more than 2,000 state, local, youth, and
college affiliations of the Association. The Department also provides research,
pleadings, briefs, and other legal resources to litigants through affiliates and a
network of cooperating attorneys who help with NAACP litigation (McBride). The NAACP
Back-To-School/Stay-In-School (BTS/SIS) Program is an incentive-based program seeking the
retention and graduation of at-risk youth, mainly black Americans and other minorities.
The aim of the program is to boost the number of skilled, knowledgeable youth graduating
from high school by providing them with mentoring, tutoring, remedial assistance, and
incentives for maintaining regular attendance, thus creating a more pleasant attitude
toward education. Encouragement by way of cultural and extra curricular activities is
also offered to increase self-worth, cultural awareness, and community service (McBride).
These are only a couple of the programs the NAACP uses to education the public.
Although not every action that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People takes results in the passing of a new bill, every action taken does effectively
lift the voice of each member so that it may be heard. By interacting directly with the
community, by helping the public to understand better what is happening with the nation,
and by making the people more knowledgeable on the issues that are important to them, the
NAACP proves to be an interest group that is successful in winning its battles, big and
small, no matter how long, hard, or costly the fight may be.
Bibliography
Works Cited
1. Douglas, Sheila. "NAACP's Mfume & 18 Activists Arrested at Supreme Court Protest."
NAACP Online. 6 October 1998. (16 November 2000).
2. ------. "NAACP to Join NY Protest of Diallo Police Killing." NAACP Online. 17 March
1999. (16 November 2000).
3. "Election Day Instructions." Voter Action Alert. October 2000. 6, 7, & 13.
4. Hilary Shelton. Telephone Interview. 17 November 2000.
5. "The Law and You: Guidelines for Interacting with Law Enforcement Officials."
[Pamphlet].
6. McBride, Fred. "Help with Assignment." 13 November 2000. Personal Email. (14 November
2000).
7. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Join the NAACP.
[Pamphlet]. Baltimore.
8. Haggard, Christopher M. "Why March?" March on Tallahassee. (16 November 2000).