NAACP Turns 100: The History and Future of the Nation's Oldest and Largest Civil Rights Organization

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or the NAACP, the country’s oldest and largest civil rights organization had its 100th anniversary celebrations last week. The biggest event of the week was President Obama’s address in Harlem Thursday night. Thousands were in the audience as the President gave his first major speech on race since taking office. In his nearly 40 minute address, Obama outlined the present-day barriers African-Americans face and ways to overcome them, citing his own personal journey and the courage and perseverance of countless civil rights activists who came before him.

For more on the NAACP, its history and future I’m joined now by two guests. Julian Bond is a leading civil rights activist and Chair of the board of the NAACP since 1998. He also helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, was the first President of the Southern Poverty Law center, and was a state legislator in Georgia for over two decades.

Julian Bond joins us now from Washington, DC.

And on the telephone from Martha’s Vineyard, we"re joined by historian Patricia Sullivan who teaches at the University of South Carolina and is a fellow at the WEB DuBois Institute at Harvard university. Her latest book is titled “Lift Every Voice: The NAACP and the making of the civil rights movement.” She traces the development of the NAACP from its founding in 1909 as a largely elite organization dominated by White reformers to a mass-Black-membership organization synonymous with the struggle for freedom. She writes that the NAACP"s very existence has “offered a singular counterforce to the racial beliefs and practices that structured American life deep into the twentieth century.”

Julian Bond, leading civil rights activist and Chair of the board of the NAACP since 1998. He helped found the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, was the first President of the Southern Poverty Law center, and was a state legislator in Georgia for over two decades.

Patricia Sullivan, teaches history at the University of South Carolina and fellow at the WEB DuBois Institute at Harvard university. Her latest book is titled “Lift Every Voice: The NAACP and the making of the civil rights movement.”

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