History and Mission of the NAACP

To make a change for the FUTURE, we must remember the past. Formed in 1905, the Niagara Movement was an organization of Blacks who attempted a work of legal redress for the oppression of Black Americans. By 1910, the Niagara movement had conducted many important civil rights cases and included among its membership some of the ablest Black lawyers in the country. The Niagara Movement's platform, as presented in a 1905 statement, ran as follows:
  • Freedom of speech and criticism.
  • An unfettered and unsubsidized press.
  • Manhood suffrage.
  • The abolition of all caste distinctions based simply on race and color.
  • The recognition of the principal of human brotherhood as a practical present creed.
  • The recognition of the highest and best training as the monopoly of no class or race.
  • A belief in the dignity of labor.
  • United effort to realize these ideals under wise and courageous leadership.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (or the NAACP, as it is popularly known) is an interracial, interfaith, nonpartisan, social action organization. It was organized shortly after the Niagara Movement in 1909 for the purpose of eliminating racial discrimination and segregation against Blacks and other minority groups, and to secure first class citizenship status for Blacks.

The Niagara Movement was hampered by a lack of funds and a membership comprised of one race only. Neverthess, the organization continued to push slowly on. Eventually, in light of the almost identical agenda and greater possibilities for effective presented by the NAACP, many members of the Niagara Movement decided to join. Many of the most prominent members of the Niagara Movement thus brought their energy and ability into the service of the NAACP. Among those members was Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, who later became the Director of Publicity and Research and Editor of the NAACP's first publication, The Crisis.

The objectives of the NAACP, as stated in the certificate of incorporation, are as follows:

"...Voluntarily to promote equality of rights and eradicate caste and race prejudice among the citizens of the U.S.; to advance the interest of colored citizens; to secure for them impartial suffrage; and to increase their opportunities for securing justice in the courts, education for their children, employment according to their ability and complete equality before the law."

Today, the NAACP is one of the oldest and most effective civil rights organizations in the United States.