Primary Sources Access – Foundation (Plan E): NAACP Papers

This module provides a comprehensive view of the NAACP's evolution, policies, and achievements from 1909-1970. Included are thousands of pages of minutes of directors' meetings, monthly reports from officers to the board of directors, proceedings of the annual business meetings, significant records of the association's annual conferences, plus voluminous special reports on a wide range of issues. The Annual Conferences served both as a major catalyst for attracting publicity and as an important avenue for grass roots participation (through branch delegations) in the affairs of the national organization. The conferences were held in a different city each year. The speeches and the resolutions passed at the annual conferences are excellent ways to study the major concerns of the NAACP on a yearly basis.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 01: Meetings of the Board of Directors, Records of Annual Conferences, Major Speeches, and Special Reports

This collection, The Papers of the NAACP, Part 1: Meetings of the Board of Directors, Records of Annual Conferences, Major Speeches, and Special Reports, 1909-1950, offers the core materials of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People from 1909 through 1950 held in the manuscript division of the Library of Congress. Although this collection covers no more than a small fraction of the entire holdings (which run to thousands of file boxes), these materials are considered to be the heart of the collection, detailing the Association's structure, activities and development at the highest organizational level; they reveal a wealth of information on virtually every aspect of American race relations.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 01: Supplement, 1951-1955

For the most part the NAACP's activities in the early 1950s concerned issues that had occupied it from the late 1940s and would continue to do so well into the 1960s, including housing and employment discrimination, mob violence against African Americans, defense against allegations of Communist influence, congressional lobbying in Washington, and the prosecution of its legal redress campaign.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 01: Supplement, 1956-1960

The Papers of the NAACP: Supplement to Part 1, 1956-1960 provide a detailed record of NAACP activity between 1956 and 1960. They summarize all of the major issues confronting the association and each of the NAACP's national programs. In addition, records of the annual business meetings and conventions provide essential information on the organization's growth and development as well as on the background of its leaders. In particular, the Records of the Annual Conventions provide an unparalleled behind-the-scenes look at the organization and planning of the organization’s most important yearly project. Convention sites include San Francisco, Detroit, Cleveland, New York City, St. Paul, Philadelphia, and Atlanta.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 01: Supplement, 1961-1965

The records in this collection provide a comprehensive summary of NAACP activities from 1961 through 1965. Major issues confronting the association and the larger civil rights movement are recurrent. The association’s programs and policies are reported and assessed. Records of the annual business meetings and conventions provide essential information on the organization’s growth and development as well as on the background of its leaders.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 01: Supplement, 1966-1970

This supplement to Part 1 of Papers of the NAACP documents the main contours of NAACP activity between 1966 and 1970. During this period, the NAACP reaffirmed its commitment to ending racial discrimination in all aspects of American life. Having achieved spectacular successes in the courtroom and the passage of civil rights legislation, particularly the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, beginning in 1966 the NAACP moved to ensure the implementation and enforcement of this crucial legislation. The association was particularly concerned with school desegregation and discrimination by employers and by labor unions. The NAACP also worked for the enactment of legislation in areas not covered by the laws passed in 1964 and 1965. NAACP initiatives against housing discrimination culminated in the inclusion of an open housing provision in the Civil Rights Act of 1968. In addition to its traditional concerns, between 1966 and 1970 the NAACP also faced new challenges. The association struggled to respond to the growing anti-Vietnam War movement, the upstart black power movement, the problems facing African Americans living in urban ghettos, and Nixon administration policies on civil rights and school desegregation.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 02: 1919-1939, Personal Correspondence of Selected NAACP Officials

This collection contains the "personal" correspondence of Secretary Walter White and several other prominent NAACP executives during the 1920s and 30s. More accurately described as professional and social correspondence, the material in this collection primarily focuses on activities not directly related to official NAACP business. Most of the documents are letters (both typed and handwritten) which were sent to the NAACP offices in New York, and the typewritten responses of NAACP officials. Likely dictated to NAACP clerical employees, who typed and filed correspondence as part of their routine office duties, this material remained in the NAACP office files following the officials' departure.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 14: Race Relations in the International Arena, 1940-1955

The files in Part 14 of Papers of the NAACP cover the development of NAACP foreign policy from 1940 through 1955. The earliest records focus on World War II and reveal that NAACP leaders worked actively on the international front during that period. A chief objective of the NAACP during wartime was to expand the Allied objectives beyond the simple defeat of the Axis powers. The NAACP sought to have the war effort cast as a struggle for democratic principles. It hoped that this broader war objective would translate into an Allied postwar political commitment to the respect of democratic principles in America and throughout the European colonial empire, particularly in Africa.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 16: Board of Directors, Correspondence and Committee Materials, Series A: 1919-1939

This collection provides background files on the work of the NAACP Board of Directors. It is best used in conjunction with the minutes of meetings of the Board of Directors, which are published as Part 1, Papers of the NAACP. The correspondence, reports, and minutes of committee meetings contained in these background files shed light on both the preparation for and the outcome of board meetings. Many of the most important issues that the NAACP confronted are discussed in these files, and many of the NAACP's most influential leaders are represented. The series is divided between a general chronological correspondence file and a series of committee files, which are arranged alphabetically by committee name. Although there are a few letters dating between 1915 and 1918 in the first file of the Correspondence series, the bulk of this body of material begins in 1919. With few exceptions, the Committee series covers only the 1930s.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 16: Supplement, Board of Directors File, 1956-1965

This collection contains background correspondence files of the NAACP Board of Directors for the years 1956-1965. These years witnessed the maturation of the modern civil rights movement, as the NAACP worked in concert with newer civil rights organizations to implement desegregation in the South in accordance with the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education while also pressing for (and ultimately winning) comprehensive federal civil rights legislation. Desegregation initiatives in the South were a pervasive concern among the directors. The Daisy Bates files are especially revealing about the Little Rock school integration battle.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 16: Supplement, Board of Directors File, 1966-1970

This supplement to Part 16 of Papers of the NAACP contains the background correspondence and committee files of the NAACP board of directors for the period from 1966 to 1970. These files contain materials on internal NAACP issues and on some of the most important developments facing the NAACP in this period, including the emergence of the Black Power movement, school desegregation efforts, the enactment of additional civil rights legislation, the War on Poverty, and the Vietnam War. The documents in this supplement come from two different groups of the NAACP Records collection at the Library of Congress: Group IV (1965-1975) and Group VI (1884-1992). These records were received by the Library of Congress in two different accessions; however, they have been presented together here in order to present the complete files of the board of directors for the period from 1966 to 1970.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 16. Board of Directors, Correspondence and Committee Materials, Series B: 1940-1955

This collection contains the working files of the NAACP Board of Directors between 1940 and 1955. This was a period of dramatic growth for the association in terms of membership, budget, and programs. It was marked by the establishment of a separate Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which took up the vast bulk of the NAACP's ambitious legal redress campaign. These developments are copiously reflected in the files of this collection. The prosecution of the war and the postwar breakdown of European colonialism are increasingly important themes as is the rise of anti-communism in American domestic politics. The NAACP's legislative agenda and its increasing focus on fair employment practices instead of anti-lynching is a recurrent matter of attention as well during the period under focus.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 17: National Staff Files, 1940-1955

The National Staff files for the period between 1940 and 1955 document the inner workings of the NAACP national headquarters during a period of significant growth for the association. They shed light on the personal qualities of numerous NAACP leaders and provide further insights on issues that the NAACP confronted during the period. This series also provides rich documentation on the grass-roots level of the NAACP due to the fact that many of the files are those of assistant field secretaries. These include many letters and reports written to national headquarters from the field during local branch visits and organizing drives.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 17: Supplement, National Staff Files, 1956-1965

This collection contains the working files of NAACP national staff members between 1956 and 1965. The files document the actions of NAACP leaders to implement the association's wide-ranging program of desegregation and expanding civil rights throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They also provide valuable insights into the leadership of the modern civil rights movement at the highest levels. Staff conferences and the development of political and legal strategies are documented. Behind-the-scenes disputes are sometimes revealed. Assessments of the NAACP's public image are recorded in light of increasing mass media coverage of race relations in America.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 21: NAACP Relations with the Modern Civil Rights Movement

This collection features subject files documenting the role of the NAACP in the modern civil rights movement between 1956 and 1965. The collection contains files on leading organizations, individuals, and events of the modern civil rights era. NAACP involvement in such critical episodes as the sit-in movement, southern demonstrations, and the 1963 March on Washington is covered, as is the association's relationship with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the Congress of Racial Equality, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and other modern militant civil rights organizations. The continuing and ultimately successful campaign for federal civil rights legislation is detailed, as are NAACP relations with older civil rights groups such as the Southern Regional Council and with mainstream liberal organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith.

The NAACP branch files in this module chronicle the local heroes of the civil rights revolution via NAACP branches throughout the United States, from 1913-1972. The contributions of scores of local leaders attorneys, community organizers, financial benefactors, students, mothers, school teachers, and other participants are revealed in these records. The Branch Department, Branch Files, and Youth Department Files in this module of NAACP Papers will allow researchers at all levels new opportunities to explore the contributions of NAACP local leaders. The branch files also indicate how effectively the NAACP national office used the branch network to advance the NAACP national program. The Youth Department Files document how the NAACP tapped the energy and talent of college students and other young people at the state and local levels.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 12: Selected Branch Files, 1913-1939, Series A: The South

Papers of the NAACP, Selected Branch Files, 1913-1939, Series A: The South is a large of collection of documents that provide a wealth of information about local networks of civil rights activists who worked for the NAACP at the grass-roots level. These documents show the interaction between the national office and local branches as they worked together on issues such as education equality, voting rights, residential segregation, lynching, and more specific campaigns, such as the Scottsboro Boys rape case.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 12: Selected Branch Files, 1913-1939, Series B: The Northeast

Papers of the NAACP, Selected Branch Files, 1913-1939, Series B: The Northeast is a large collection of documents that provide a wealth of information about local networks of civil rights activists who worked for the NAACP at the grass-roots level. These documents show the interaction between the national office and local branches as they worked together on issues such as education equality, voting rights, residential segregation, lynching, and more specific campaigns, such as the Scottsboro Boys rape case. The Northeast region included Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and also the New England Conference of NAACP branches. Among individual branches, the several related to New York City comprise a large number of records.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 12: Selected Branch Files, 1913-1939, Series C: The Midwest

Papers of the NAACP, Part 12: Selected Branch Files, 1913-1939. Series C: The Midwest documents the activities of NAACP branch offices and state conferences in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The folders are arranged alphabetically by state and cover the period 1913 to 1939. In addition to the state conferences for four states, the following branches are covered: Chicago and Decatur, Illinois; Gary and Indianapolis, Indiana; Des Moines, Iowa; Bay City, Detroit, and Port Huron, Michigan; Duluth, Minnesota; Saint Louis, Missouri; Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Massillon, Ohio; Charleston, West Virginia; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. These documents provide a large amount of information about the community-based networks of civil rights activists who worked with the NAACP at the grass-roots level.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 12: Selected Branch Files, 1913-1939, Series D: The West

Papers of the NAACP, Part 12: Selected Branch Files, 1913-1939. Series D: The West documents the activities of NAACP branch offices and state conferences in California, Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma. The folders are arranged alphabetically by state and cover the period 1913 to 1939. In addition to the state conferences, the following branches are covered: San Diego and San Francisco, California and Northern California; Colorado Springs and Denver, Colorado; and Fort Scott and Topeka, Kansas. These documents provide a wealth of information about the community-based networks of civil rights activists who worked with the NAACP at the grass-roots level.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 19: Youth File, Series A: 1919-1939

Papers of the NAACP, Part 19, Youth File. Series A: 1919-1939 documents the formation and early years of the NAACP youth movement through 1939. The movement was led by Juanita Jackson, who spearheaded the initiative by forming the first NAACP Youth Conference in 1936. The association had made earlier efforts to cultivate a youth following among students of black colleges and universities before the 1930s. The initiative beginning in the mid-1930s, however, aimed to develop a mass movement of young people both on college campuses and in the larger society. As collection documents demonstrate, Jackson's youth program operated with a dual thrust: it stepped up the organization of college chapters, but it also struck out in a new direction, organizing junior branches or youth councils at the local level. Delegates from both groups convened annually at the Youth Conference, which was held at the same time as the NAACP's national convention.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 19: Youth File, Series B: 1940-1955, American Jewish Congress-Motion Picture Project

Papers of the NAACP, Part 19: Youth File. Series B: 1940-1955, American Jewish Congress-Motion Picture Project is a large group of documents that are the first half of alphabetically organized subject files of the NAACP Youth Department from 1940 through 1955. The series begins with "A" (American Jewish Congress) and runs through "M" (Motion Picture Project). A companion collection, Papers of the NAACP, Part 19, Series C continues the alphabetical subject file from "N" through "Y." The documents cover both individuals and organizations, including local youth councils and college chapters.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 19: Youth File, Series C: 1940-1955, NAACP-Youthbuilders

Papers of the NAACP, Part 19: Youth File. Series C: 1940-1955, NAACP-Youth Builders is a large group of documents that are the second half of the alphabetically organized subject materials of the NAACP Youth Department from 1940 through 1955. The series commences with "NAACP" and runs through "Y" (Youth Builders). A companion collection, Papers of the NAACP, Part 19, Series B, contains alphabetical subject files from "A" through "M." The documents cover both individuals and organizations, including local youth councils and college chapters.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 19: Youth File, Series D: Youth Department Files, 1956-1965

Papers of the NAACP, Part 19: Youth File Series D: 1956 1965, Youth Department Files documents the youth movement of the NAACP between 1956 and 1965. Collection documents cover activity at both the local and national level. Local material includes reports on membership drives, sit-in demonstrations, and fair employment and other campaigns. The national office records examine the association's programs to attract youths to the NAACP. The records provide valuable glimpses into the rise of the youth-based civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, and show how the NAACP s victory in the Brown v. Board of Education decision sparked a generation of young people to work to desegregate American society.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 25: Branch Department Files, Series A: Regional Files and Special Reports, 1941-1955

NAACP Branch Department Files: Regional Files and Special Reports, 1941-1955 contains a substantial body of material on the NAACP's regional offices and local branches during a period when they were involved in campaigns for educational equality, desegregation of housing, desegregation of public accommodations and schools, voting rights, equal protection of the law, and the banning of lynching and employment discrimination. The collection also provides significant information about the interaction of the national office with local and regional offices and with civil rights activists.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 25: Branch Department Files, Series B: Regional Files and Special Reports, 1956-1965

NAACP Branch Department Files: Series B, Regional Files and Special Reports, 1956-1965 contains a substantial body of material on the NAACP's regional offices and local branches during a period when they were involved in campaigns for educational equality, desegregation of housing, desegregation of public accommodations and schools, voting rights, equal protection of the law, and the banning of lynching and employment discrimination. The collection also provides significant information about the interaction of the national office with local and regional offices and with civil rights activists. These files reveal the nationwide mushrooming of civil rights activism following the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision and the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955-1956.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 25: Branch Department Files, Series C: Branch Newsletters and Printed Materials, 1956-1965

Papers of the NAACP, Part 25, Series C: Branch Newsletters and Printed Materials, 1956-1965 is a significant set of documents that provide an overview of state and local NAACP activity during a high point of the post-World War II struggle for civil rights. Collection materials consist primarily of five categories of publications: branch directories, handbooks and manuals, convention programs, newsletters, and reports.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 25: Branch Department Files, Series D: Branch Department General Department Files, 1956-1965

Papers of the NAACP, Part 25: Branch Department Files, Series D: Branch Department General Department Files, 1956-1965 is a large collection of documents that consists of the General Files of the NAACP's Branch Department, one of the association's most important and influential sections. The collection documents the nationwide surge of civil rights effort that followed the Supreme Court's 1954Brown v. Board of Education decision and the 381-day Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott of 1955-1956.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 26: Selected Branch Files, 1940-1955, Series A: The South

Papers of the NAACP, Part 26: Selected Branch Files, 1940-1955. Series A: The South is a large document collection that provides a detailed view of the activities of NAACP branch offices and state conferences in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The files are arranged alphabetically by state and city and span the period 1940 to 1955. Every branch whose records contained a substantial correspondence regarding substantive issues is represented in the collection. In addition to the state conferences, the following branches are covered: Birmingham, Mobile, and Montgomery, Alabama; Jacksonville, Florida; Atlanta, Macon, and Savannah, Georgia; Louisville, Kentucky; Baltimore, Maryland; Jackson, McComb, Meridian, Natchez, Vicksburg, and Yazoo City, Mississippi; Fayetteville and Greenville, North Carolina; Boley, Oklahoma; Clarendon County, South Carolina; Austin, Dallas, and Houston, Texas; and Fairfax County, Newport News, Norfolk, and Petersburg, Virginia.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 26: Selected Branch Files, 1940-1955, Series B: The Northeast

Papers of the NAACP, Part 26: Selected Branch Files, 1940-1955. Series B: The Northeast documents the activities of NAACP branch offices and state conferences in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The files are arranged alphabetically by state and cover the period 1940 to 1955. The documents cover a wide variety of topics, including membership statistics, the functioning of local branches, their relations with the national office, and visits by and directives from national officers to guide local branch operations.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 26: Selected Branch Files, 1940-1955, Series C: The Midwest

NAACP, Part 26: 1940-1955, Series C: The Midwest documents the activities of NAACP branch offices and state conferences in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The files are arranged alphabetically by state and span from 1940 to 1955. Every branch whose records contained a substantial amount of correspondence regarding substantive issues is included in the collection. In addition to the state conferences, the following branches are covered: Chicago and Springfield, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, and River Rouge-Ecorse, Michigan; Cincinnati, Cleveland, Massillon, and Niles, Ohio.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 26: Selected Branch Files, 1940-1955, Series D: The West

NAACP, Part 26: 1940-1955, Series D: The West documents the activities of NAACP branch offices and state conferences in Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Washington State. The files are arranged alphabetically by state and span from 1940 to 1955. Every branch whose records contained a substantial amount of correspondence regarding substantive issues is included in the collection.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 27: Selected Branch Files, 1956-1965, Series A: The South

Papers of the NAACP, Part 27: Selected Branch Files, 1956-1965. Series A: The South documents the activities of NAACP branch offices and state conferences in and state conferences in Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. The files are arranged alphabetically by state and thereunder by city; they span the years 1956 to 1965. The Branch Department files provide an important local perspective on the functioning of NAACP branches and state conferences and reveal a vibrant movement for civil rights among NAACP branches in the South. The files contain correspondence from the national office to the branches as well as correspondence and reports generated at the local level and forwarded to the national office. These files cover a wide variety of local matters such as branch elections, membership drives, fund-raising, factional disputes, and local civil rights initiatives. These documents provide a wealth of information about the community-based networks of civil rights activists who worked with the NAACP at the grass-roots level.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 27: Selected Branch Files, 1956-1965, Series B: The Northeast

Papers of the NAACP, Part 27: Selected Branch Files, 1956-1965. Series B: The Northeast documents the activities of NAACP branch offices and state conferences in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The files are arranged alphabetically by state and thereunder by city and span from 1956 to 1965. The Branch Department files contain correspondence from the national office to the branches as well as correspondence and reports generated at the local level and forwarded to the national office. These files cover a wide variety of local matters such as branch elections, membership drives, fundraising, factional disputes, and local civil rights initiatives. These documents provide a wealth of information about the community-based networks of civil rights activists who worked with the NAACP at the grass-roots level.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 27: Selected Branch Files, 1956-1965, Series C: The Midwest

Papers of the NAACP, Part 27: Selected Branch Files, 1956-1965. Series C: The Midwest documents the activities of NAACP branch offices and state conferences in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The files are arranged alphabetically by state and thereunder by city and span from 1956 to 1965. Part 27: Selected Branch Files, 1956–1965, represents a continuation of the Selected Branch Files from Part 12 (1913-–1939) and Part 26 (1940-1955) of Papers of the NAACP.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 27: Selected Branch Files, 1956-1965, Series D: The West

Papers of the NAACP, Part 27: Selected Branch Files, 1956-1965. Series D: The West documents the activities of NAACP branch offices and state conferences in and state conferences in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, and Washington State. The files are arranged alphabetically by state and thereunder by city and span from 1956 to 1965. The Branch Department files provide an important local perspective on the functioning of NAACP branches and state conferences and reveal a vibrant movement for civil rights among NAACP branches in the West. The files contain correspondence from the national office to the branches as well as correspondence and reports generated at the local level and forwarded to the national office. These files cover a wide variety of local matters such as branch elections, membership drives, fund-raising, factional disputes, and local civil rights initiatives. These documents provide a wealth of information about the community-based networks of civil rights activists who worked with the NAACP at the grass-roots level.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 29: Branch Department, Series A: Field Staff Files, 1965-1972

Papers of the NAACP, Part 29: Branch Department. Series A: Field Staff Files, 1965-1972 documents the activities of some of the most outstanding leaders, and their correspondence and reports provide a detailed view of the association's initiatives on a regional, state, and local level. During the period covered, the NAACP faced new challenges in the form of an upstart Black Power movement, riots in urban areas, and renewed white resistance to civil rights gains. These Branch Department files, however, reveal that the NAACP branch network continued to work vigorously for the association's long-standing goal of ending racial discrimination in all aspects of American life. These documents provide a wealth of information about the community-based networks of civil rights activists who worked with the NAACP at the grass-roots level.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 29: Branch Department, Series B: Branch Newsletters, Annual Branch Activities Reports, and Selected Branch Department Subject Files, 1966-1972

Papers of the NAACP, Branch Department, Part 29: Series B, Branch Newsletters, Annual Branch Activities Reports, and Selected Branch Department Subject Files, 1966-1972documents the activities of NAACP branch operations. This series of Branch Department files is composed of five subseries: Newsletters; Annual Reports; Annual Activities Reports; General Office Files; and Staff files of Branch Director Gloster B. Current. The files date primarily from 1966 to 1972; however, there are scattered outlier documents dated from before 1966. These materials were received by the Library of Congress in related accessions and have been arranged in one group by the Library of Congress.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 29: Branch Department, Series C: Branch Newsletters and Regional Field Office Files, 1966-1971

Papers of the NAACP, Part 29: Branch Department, Series C, Branch Newsletters and Regional Office Files, 1966-1971 documents the activities of the NAACP through its branch newsletters and regional office files. These documents provide a wealth of information about the community-based networks of civil rights activists who worked with the NAACP at the grass-roots level. Files spans the years 1966 to 1971 and are comprised of three subseries: Branches--Newsletters and Other Material; Regions; and Regional Files. The first subseries of branch newsletters and printed materials reveals an active and diverse NAACP branch network that continued to work for the association's long-standing goal of ending discrimination in American life. The Regions and Regional Files subseries contain correspondence and reports on local, state, and regional NAACP initiatives.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 29: Branch Department, Series D: Branch Department General Subject Files, 1966-1970

Papers of the NAACP, Part 29: Branch Department, Series D, Branch Department General Subject Files, 1966-1970 documents the activities of NAACP Branch Department through files arranged by subject, spanning the years 1966 to 1970. The files primarily consist of correspondence and reports from Branch Department field staff and from Branch Director Gloster B. Current. The files are arranged alphabetically by subject or by name of correspondent.

The NAACP was involved in several subjects that did not rise to the level of major campaigns but were still vital to the organization. This module contains records on those subjects, and in so doing, reveals the wide scope of NAACP activism and interest. These files cover subjects and episodes that are crucial to the NAACP's history, such as civil rights complaints and legislation, the Klan, Birth of a Nation, the Walter White-W. E. B. Du Bois controversy of 1933-1934, communism and anticommunism during the years of the "red scare," the congressional prosecution of Hollywood personalities, the prosecution of conscientious objectors during World War II, NAACP's relations with African colonial liberation movements, NAACP fundraising and membership recruitment, urban riots, the War on Poverty, and the emergence of the Black Power Movement.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 11: Special Subject Files, 1912-1939, Series A: Africa through Garvey, Marcus

Special Subject Files, 1912-1939 Series A: Africa through Garvey, Marcus contains approximately 30,000 pages arranged within 567 folders that document NAACP activities during the period 1912-1939. Major subjects include the campaign against the movie, The Birth of a Nation, controversy over W. E. B. Du Bois's economic philosophy, the NAACP as monitor of the Ku Klux Klan, complaints about civil rights laws enforcement, relations with other racial advancement organizations, and NAACP participation in political campaigns

Papers of the NAACP, Part 11: Special Subject Files, 1912-1939, Series B: Harding, Warren G. through YWCA

Papers of the NAACP, Special Subject Files, 1912-1939, Series B: Harding, Warren G. Through YWCA contains approximately 36,000 pages arranged within 626 folders that document NAACP activities and national civil rights developments during the period 1912-1939. Collection documents are arranged alphabetically from H (Harding, Warren G.) to Y (YWCA). A companion collection, Papers of the NAACP, Special Subject Files, 1912-1939, Series A: Africa through Garvey, Marcus, contains documents in the alphabetical range A through H.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 18. Special Subjects, 1940-1955, Series A: Legal Department Files

Papers of the NAACP, Part 18. Special Subjects, 1940-1955: Series A, Legal Department Files contains approximately 10,000 pages of documents within the alphabetical subject files compiled by the NAACP's Legal Department. The material covers a variety of important topics on racial discrimination and antidiscrimination efforts in areas such as law, legislation, subversive organizations, voting rights, federal social and economic programs, and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund's officials and operations.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 18. Special Subjects, 1940-1955, Series B: General Office Files: Abolition of Government Agencies-Jews

Papers of the NAACP, Part 18. Special Subjects, 1940-1955, Series B. General Office Files: Abolition of Government Agencies-Jews contains approximately 23,000 pages of documents organized in 216 folders on subjects that were of high importance to the NAACP as well as to Black Americans generally during the period 1940 through 1955, including the depiction of Black Americans in motion pictures, relations between the black American and American Jewish communities, and the attraction of communism among black youths and intellectuals. Many documents touch on the association's ongoing relationship with other organizations. The collection also includes valuable information on a number of prominent political, social, and intellectual leaders.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 18. Special Subjects, 1940-1955, Series C: General Office Files: Justice Department-White Supremacy

Papers of the NAACP, Part 18. Special Subjects, 1940-1955, Series C: General Office Files: Justice Department-White Supremacy contains approximately 33,000 pages of documents on subjects that were of high importance to the NAACP as well as to Black Americans generally during the period 1940 through 1955. These subjects include post-World War II African American political assertiveness, NAACP voter registration initiatives, the reactionary campaigns of southern segregationists, and urban problems confronting northern cities to which Black Americans migrated after World War II.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 24: Special Subjects, 1956-1965, Series A: Africa-Films

Papers of the NAACP Part 24: Special Subjects, 1956-1965, Series A: Africa-Films contains approximately 28,000 pages that document many important aspects of the NAACP's programs between 1956 and 1965, as well as various issues in American race relations during the period.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 24: Special Subjects, 1956-1965, Series B: Foreign Affairs-Leagues and Organizations

Papers of the NAACP, Part 24, Special Subjects, 1956-1965 Series B: Foreign Affairs-Leagues and Organizations contains approximately 33,000 pages that document many of the significant activities and programs the NAACP conducted during the 1956-1965 period. The issues include the organization s political and fundraising activities, involvement with government, efforts to counter hate-based actions and publications, and relations with a large number of political, religious, labor, and civil rights organizations.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 24: Special Subjects, 1956-1965, Series C: Life Memberships-Zangrando

Papers of the NAACP Part 24: Special Subjects, 1956-1965 Series C, Life Memberships to Zangrando contains approximately 41,000 pages that document many important aspects of the NAACP programs between 1956 and 1965, as well as various facets of American race relations during the period. Subjects covered include the NAACP Life Membership campaign, the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, the organization's involvement in voting and the presidential election campaigns from 1956 through 1964, the NAACP's Program Department and Public Relations Departments, mass media monitoring activity, speakers from the NAACP national office, and the NAACP and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 28: Special Subject Files, 1966-1970, Series A:

PAPERS OF THE NAACP Part 28: Special Subject Files, 1966-1970 Series A: "Africa" through "Poor People's Campaign" contains approximately 32,000 pages of the General Office Files of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Records collection at the Library of Congress. These documents provide an in-depth look at some of the most important developments in the civil rights struggle between 1966 and 1970. These include the emergence of the Black Power movement, open housing legislation, employment discrimination legislation, the War on Poverty, urban riots, and the Vietnam War.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 28: Special Subject Files, 1966-1970, Series B:

Papers of the NAACP, Part 28, Special Subject Files, 1966–1970. Series B: “Powell, Adam Clayton Jr.” through “White Supremacy” contains approximately 16,000 pages of documents from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Records collection at the Library of Congress. Arranged alphabetically by subject, these documents provide an in-depth look at some of the most important developments in the civil rights struggle between 1966 and 1970. These include the emergence of the Black Power movement, the enactment of open housing legislation, the fight against discrimination by employers and labor unions, school desegregation efforts, urban riots, the War on Poverty, voter registration, and the Vietnam War.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 30: General Office Files, 1966-1972, Series A: Subject Files

Papers of the NAACP, Part 30, General Office Files, 1966-1972, Series A: Subject Files consists of approximately 22,000 pages of documents from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Records Collection at the Library of Congress. These documents provide an in-depth look at some of the most important challenges facing the NAACP between 1966 and 1972, including the association's relationship with Black Power organizations and leaders, new obstacles in the field of school desegregation, continuing efforts to combat discrimination in housing and employment, and confrontations with President Richard M. Nixon, particularly over school desegregation and his nominees for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Major campaigns for equal access to education, voting, employment, housing and the military are covered in this module. The education files in this second module document the NAACP's systematic assault on segregated education that culminated in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. Files from 1955 –1965 focus on the NAACP's efforts to implement the Brown decision as well as to combat de facto segregation outside of the South. Voting rights was one of the NAACP's earliest major campaigns. The voting rights document in extensive detail the NAACP's campaign against the white primary, discriminatory registration practices, the grandfather clause, and the triumphs of the 1957 Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 03: The Campaign for Educational Equality, Series A: Legal Department and Central Office Records, 1913-1940

This collection provides an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at the NAACP's efforts to fight school segregation. From its inception in 1909, the NAACP had as its principal objective the enforcement of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments in order to secure constitutional rights for black Americans. For more than two decades, however, the attention of the organization was devoted primarily to battling against school segregation, principally in northern towns and cities that attempted to establish segregated school systems in place of previously integrated systems as a result of the growing black migration from the South.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 03: The Campaign for Educational Equality, Series B: Legal Department and Central Office Records, 1940-1950

In this collection researchers will discover a vast trove of documents related to the NAACP's early legal battles against discrimination and segregation in education. During this time period, the NAACP did not endeavor to overturn segregation outright, but instead worked to ensure black students had equal educational opportunities. As shown by the primary source documents contained in this collection, the NAACP focused on three primary areas of discrimination: higher education, public schools, and teacher salaries. The documents in this collection provide detailed information about the battles waged by the NAACP, both within and outside the courtroom.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 03: The Campaign for Educational Equality, Series C: Legal Department and Central Office Records, 1951-1955

This Part of NAACP Papers includes both General Office and Legal Department files of the NAACP national office for the period between 1951 and 1955. In May 1954, the NAACP won the landmark constitutional decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which outlawed segregation in education and by implication in all areas of American life. The documents in this part provide a detailed account of the thoughts and actions of the NAACP leadership during the three years leading up to the Brown decision and the two years following--a period capped by another U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1955 attempting to clarify Brown. The background case files used in preparation of the Brown decision are part of the Legal Department Files in this part. Researchers also should be aware of the companion editions of Papers of the NAACP, Part 3: The Campaign for Educational Equality: Series A (1913-1940), Series B (1940-1950), and Series D (1956-1965).

Papers of the NAACP, Part 03: The Campaign for Educational Equality, Series D: Central Office Records, 1956-1965

This part of the NAACP Papers collection documents the NAACP's efforts between 1956 and 1965 to implement the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education that guaranteed a constitutional right to integrated education, as well as the NAACP's efforts to combat de facto segregation outside of the South. Drawn from the NAACP General Office Files, these subject files reveal the extensive grassroots campaign waged by scores of NAACP branches throughout the United States under the guidance of the NAACP national office. The strength of this part is material regarding the NAACP's political initiatives and the responses by segregationists. Valuable materials regarding the more technically legal aspects of the campaign are also featured.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 04: Voting Rights Campaign, 1916-1950

The files in this part include all the pertinent records in the area of voting rights from the NAACP collection at the Library of Congress, with the exception of materials scattered throughout the Board of Directors minutes, records of annual NAACP conferences, monthly reports of NAACP executive officers, and special correspondence of NAACP officers and prominent figures. These materials are in Part 1 of the NAACP Papers collections as published by ProQuest.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 04: Voting Rights Campaign, 1916-1950, Supplement: Voting Rights, General Office Files, 1956-1965

The records in this supplement to Part 4 document the NAACP's efforts between 1956 and 1965 to guarantee and extend the franchise among African Americans. Fighting for the franchise had been one of the NAACP's earliest major campaigns. As Papers of the NAACP, Part 4, Voting Rights, 1916-1950 shows, the NAACP fought relentlessly, from the very beginning of its existence, against the denial of voting rights to African Americans. It filed an amicus curiae brief in a case against the "grandfather" clause in 1915, and it took the lead in the struggle to render "white primary elections" unconstitutional before the U.S. Supreme Court. The result was landmark constitutional rulings against both of these practices.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 05: Campaign against Residential Segregation, 1914-1955

An important part of NAACP litigation from its earliest years until the middle of the century was its campaign against residential segregation--a campaign that did not really end until Congress passed the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The NAACP first acted against the residential segregation ordinances passed by some cities in the early twentieth century, then turned its attention to the restrictive covenants that, while known earlier, owed their growth to the NAACP victories over city segregation ordinances. Meanwhile the Association took up selected cases of mob violence against blacks who had moved into racially restricted areas. Beginning with the New Deal period it also undertook a struggle against discrimination in federal housing programs (both in public housing and in FHA-directed assistance to private homeowners). During the period covered by Groups I and II of the NAACP Archives at the Library of Congress (1909-1955), the most important legal decision in the broad fight against segregation, of which the fight against Jim Crow housing was a part, was the Supreme Court's finding in Shelley v. Kraemer, declaring restrictive covenants unenforceable.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 05: Campaign against Residential Segregation, 1914-1955, Supplement: Residential Segregation, General Office Files, 1956-1965

The files in this supplement are the complete Housing files from Series A, "Administrative File," Group III (1956-1965), of the NAACP collection. The Administrative File constitutes the central subject file of the national office.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 09: Discrimination in the U.S. Armed Forces, Series A: General Office Files on Armed Forces' Affairs, 1918-1955

Part 9A of Papers of the NAACP includes all files on the United States military from the Subject File series of Group I of the NAACP collection (1909-1939), and from the General Office File series of Group II of the collection (1940-1955). The majority of the material derives from the World War II and postwar eras that are covered by Group II. However, there is a significant series of material from Group I, which covers a bit of World War I as well as the 1920s and 1930s. Each file included has been reproduced in its entirety.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 09: Discrimination in the U.S. Armed Forces, Series B: Armed Forces' Legal Files, 1940-1950

The Legal Office Files provide an extensive chronicle of the work of NAACP lawyers on behalf of black servicemen and women in the 1940s. Most of the Legal Files are case files. These are arranged alphabetically by type of case--court-martial, soldier killing, etc.--and thereunder they are arranged alphabetically by name of the black defendant or victim. Apart from the case files, there are a number of administrative files that the legal staff maintained. These administrative files include fairly extensive correspondence files with NAACP veterans affairs secretary, Jesse O. Dedmon, and correspondence files with each of the branches of the U.S. military: the army, Army Air Corps, and navy. The case files range widely in depth. Some cases contain little more than a copy of the original complaint to the NAACP national office and a letter from the national legal department to an NAACP branch recommending that a local attorney be found to take up the matter. A second, and more common pattern of case files, includes original complaints and references with follow-up support from the national office to the local attorney. Finally, there are numerous cases which attorneys from the national office handled themselves, mostly at the appellate level. The administrative correspondence concerns referrals from the veterans affairs secretary, discriminatory policies of the armed services and Veterans Administration, and army camp investigations.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 09: Discrimination in the U.S. Armed Forces, Series C: The Veterans Affairs Committee, 1940-1950

The Veterans Affairs Department was established in December of 1944 to handle the increasingly heavy load of inquiries made upon the NAACP by black servicemen and veterans and also to advance the NAACP objective of eliminating discrimination in the armed services based on race or color. Within a year, the department evolved into both a political lobby and an information agency for African American veterans. It also undertook investigations of abusive and discriminatory conditions in army camps and served as a go-between for veterans and other departments of the NAACP, especially the National Legal Department. The department was directed by Jesse O. Dedmon Jr., who served as NAACP secretary for veterans affairs from an office located in Washington, D.C.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 13: NAACP and Labor, Series A: Subject Files on Labor Conditions and Employment Discrimination, 1940-1955

This part of NAACP papers covers cases of employment discrimination, employment opportunities, and NAACP actions in the area of labor. Most of this part consists of case files that relate to discriminatory practices in the workforce, but there is also much of significance regarding the NAACP's legislative and legal redress campaigns in behalf of equal employment opportunity as well as on the development of overall NAACP strategy on employment discrimination and on relations with organized labor. This part is organized around the subject files on discrimination and labor conditions and is complemented by Part 13, Series B and Series C. Part 13, Series B, Cooperation with Organized Labor, provides fuller documentation on the relationships between the NAACP and trade unions. Part 13, Series C, Legal Department Files on Labor, more fully documents the legal redress strategies the NAACP used to combat discrimination in the labor force.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 13: NAACP and Labor, Series B: Cooperation with Organized Labor, 1940-1955

This part details the NAACP-led campaign for fair employment legislation between 1940 and 1955. Employment discrimination had been a constant problem for African Americans long before the 1940s, but there were few legal remedies available to NAACP lawyers to combat the problem. While the NAACP was concerned about employment discrimination, the passage of a federal antilynching bill was still its highest legislative priority in the 1920s and 1930s.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 13: NAACP and Labor, Series C: Legal Department Files on Labor, 1940-1955

This part contains files that pertain to labor issues from the NAACP Legal Department files between 1940 and 1945. The arrangement is alphabetical, beginning with "Boilermakers" and ending with "Thomas, Prentice." Selections of the files for inclusion were made by Professors August Meier and John H. Bracey Jr. after a careful survey of the complete Legal File series of Group II (1940-1955) of the original collection. Although every file reproduced for this part comes from the Legal File series of the NAACP collection, the largest subseries of the part is a mix of Legal Department and Labor Department files, grouped under the heading "Labor." Most of the files under the "Labor" heading seem to show a clear provenance of Clarence Mitchell, head of both the NAACP Labor Department and Washington Bureau in the 1940s. Mitchell's files are essentially files of complaints about instances of employment discrimination, and they constitute a significant body of evidence of employment discrimination during the 1940s and early 1950s. In spite of the confused provenance of the "Labor" subseries, the files provide a valuable mix of evidence of discrimination and a record of the NAACP's response to it in the 1940s and early 1950s. Following are brief summaries of the major files in the part.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 13: Supplement, NAACP and Labor, 1956-1965

In the decade covered by this supplement, the NAACP struggled to find an effective means to combat pervasive racial discrimination in the American workplace. The national prosperity of the 1950s and 1960s failed to include the majority of African Americans, and employment discrimination was a major reason for the failure. In attempting to provide African Americans with an entry to the economic mainstream, the NAACP exposed and confronted every aspect of employment discrimination in the modern labor force. These records extensively document that campaign.

This NAACP module consists of the working case files of the NAACP's general counsel and his Legal Department staff for the period from 1956 to 1972. The files document the NAACP's aggressive campaign to bring about desegregation throughout the United States, particularly in the South. In total, this module contains over 600 cases from 34 states and the District of Columbia. The cases in this module pertain to school desegregation, abuses of police procedure, employment discrimination, freedom of speech, privacy, freedom of association, and housing discrimination.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 22: Legal Department Administrative Files, 1956-1965

This collection contains the central administrative files of NAACP Chief Counsel Robert L. Carter between 1956 and 1965. Many of the files detail the wide scope of Carter's involvement in American legal culture and politics in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Correspondence and administrative files document the daily routine of the NAACP chief counsel's responsibilities.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 23: Legal Department Case Files, 1956-1965, Series A: The South

This collection contains case files from the NAACP Legal Department for southern states between 1956 and 1965. The NAACP Legal Department evolved as a major force in civil rights litigation after Thurgood Marshall separated the longstanding NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDEF) from the NAACP proper in 1957. Robert L. Carter succeeded Marshall as General Counsel to the NAACP and served the corporate needs of the parent organization, which included adjudicating internal NAACP disputes and defending the organization itself from hostile actions of state governments in the South.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 23: Legal Department Case Files, 1956-1965, Series B: The Northeast

This collection contains case files from the NAACP Legal Department for northeastern states between 1956 and 1965. The NAACP Legal Department evolved as a major force in civil rights litigation after Thurgood Marshall separated the long-standing NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDEF) from the NAACP proper in 1957. Robert L. Carter succeeded Marshall as General Counsel to the NAACP and served the corporate legal needs of the parent organization, which included adjudicating internal NAACP disputes and defending the association itself from hostile actions of state governments in the South.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 23: Legal Department Case Files, 1956-1965, Series C: The Mid and Far West

This collection contains case files from the NAACP Legal Department for western and midwestern states, between the years 1956 and 1965. The cases in this collection involve school desegregation, employment and housing discrimination, questions of criminal procedure, rights of free expression, and disciplinary actions against local NAACP branches. They are grouped alphabetically by state and by the name of the petitioner. From major school desegregation cases in Cleveland and Cincinnati, Ohio, Gary, Indiana, and San Francisco and Sacramento, California, and housing desegregation in Detroit, Michigan, to employment discrimination cases against the Seafarer's International Union in California, the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad, and the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, this series contains an impressive array of civil rights legal material. There are additional smaller but substantive case files from California, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, and South Dakota.

Papers of the NAACP, Supplement to Part 23: Legal Department Case Files, 1960-1972, Series A: The South, Section I: Alabama, Arkansas, and Florida

This collection reproduces the working case files of the NAACP's general counsel and the Legal Department staff from 1960 to 1972, with particular focus on the years 1965 to 1972. Due to the enormous size of the NAACP Legal Department Case Files, Supplement to Part 23 has been organized into several series based on geographic location. Series A covers southern states and is further divided into three sections, with Section I covering Alabama, Arkansas, and Florida.

Papers of the NAACP, Supplement to Part 23: Legal Department Case Files, 1960-1972, Series A: The South, Section II: Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia

This collection reproduces the working case files of the NAACP's general counsel and the Legal Department staff from 1960 to 1972, with particular focus on the years 1965 to 1972. Due to the enormous size of the NAACP Legal Department Case Files, Supplement to Part 23 has been organized into several series based on geographic location. Series A covers southern states and is further divided into three sections, with Section II covering Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.

Papers of the NAACP, Supplement to Part 23: Legal Department Case Files, 1960-1972, Series A: The South, Section III: Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas

This collection reproduces the working case files of the NAACP's general counsel and the legal department staff for the period 1960-1972, focusing on the years 1965-1972. The case files pertain to demonstrations and boycotts, employment discrimination, school desegregation, discrimination in the criminal justice system, and voting rights. This collection is the third section of the Supplement's Series A: The South, and covers Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas. Document types include correspondence, exhibits, briefs, lawyers' notes, depositions, and transcripts of court proceedings.

Papers of the NAACP, Supplement to Part 23: Legal Department Case Files, 1960-1972, Series B: The Northeast, Section I: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island

This collection consists of the working case files of the NAACP's general counsel and legal department staff for Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. The cases from these states primarily relate to employment discrimination and school desegregation. The cases are organized alphabetically by state and within each state alphabetically by case name. Document types include NAACP correspondence, case materials, depositions, legal drafts and notes, interviews, newspaper clippings, and transcripts.

Papers of the NAACP, Supplement to Part 23: Legal Department Case Files, 1960-1972, Series B: The Northeast, Section II: New York

This collection consists of the working case files of the NAACP's general counsel and legal department staff for the period 1960-1972. The major topics covered in these cases are discrimination in housing, employment, and education. This collection is the second section of the Supplement's Series B: The Northeast, and covers New York State. The cases are organized alphabetically by case name. Document types include correspondence, meeting minutes, newspaper clippings, case materials, court documents, interrogatories, transcripts, court proceedings and other legal papers.

Papers of the NAACP, Supplement to Part 23: Legal Department Case Files, 1960-1972, Series C: The Midwest, Section I: Ohio

This collection contains records of the NAACP Legal Department on cases of racial discrimination in Ohio. While the most famous and successful legal and political campaigns of the civil rights movement generally focused on dismantling the Jim Crow system in southern states, the same kinds of barriers to full participation in economic and civic life for African Americans existed throughout the North and Midwest as well. The documents in this section consist of forty-eight sets of working case files, organized alphabetically, of the NAACP's general counsel and legal department staff for Ohio, primarily for the years from 1965 to 1972. The major topics covered in these cases are discrimination in employment, labor union membership, and housing, and half of the cases pertain to the cities of Akron, Columbus, and Dayton.

Papers of the NAACP, Supplement to Part 23: Legal Department Case Files, 1960-1972, Series C: The Midwest, Section II: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, West Virginia, and Wisconsin

On August 23, 1967, during a deposition in the case of Copeland v. South Bend Community Corporation, NAACP lawyer and lead attorney for the plaintiffs, Lewis Steel, posed a critical question to South Bend School Superintendent Charles C. Holt: "Given the racial problems that exist in America today, [is] integration...a desirable result which public officials should be trying to achieve?" Holt's lawyer, L. C. Chapleau, immediately objected on the grounds that the question raised issues beyond the scope of the matter at hand. "I think we are getting into a philosophy that involves the United States [as a whole]," said Chapleau. "We are involved with the trial of certain issues in this case, and I think that the interrogation of this witness should be confined to these questions only insofar as it affects the subject matter of this litigation.... He can answer this one [question], but I don't know if we continue in such broad questions whether we will permit him to answer." 

The focus of this module is on the NAACP's efforts to combat lynching, mob violence, discrimination in the criminal justice system, and white resistance to civil rights efforts. These files are supplemented by materials on segregation and discrimination complaints regarding public accommodations and recreational facilities sent to and investigated by the NAACP, and records on discrimination in employment. A particularly rich set of records in this module is the NAACP file on one of the most celebrated criminal trials of the 20th century--the case of the Scottsboro Boys. The NAACP's campaign against lynching and mob violence was ideally suited to accomplish the NAACP's early goals of breaching the wall of silence regarding racial discrimination and racial violence, and bringing African Americans into full civic participation. The records pertaining to this campaign shed light on the Great Migration of the early 20th century and the movement of African Americans to urban areas, and NAACP's efforts to respond to urban mob violence, especially during the violence of 1919 as well as later riots. The NAACP's efforts to win passage of a federal law against lynching are also well-documented in this module.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 06: The Scottsboro Case, 1931-1950

Introduction: This collection covers one of the more complicated and incendiary civil rights legal cases in which the NAACP had a significant role--the Scottsboro Boys case. In March 1931 a group of nine African-American teenaged boys were accused of raping two white girls on a train traveling through Alabama. In a series of trials arranged hurriedly in Scottsboro, Alabama, eight of the nine defendants were sentenced to death. Questions quickly arose to suggest that the defendants had been deprived an appropriate venue, effective counsel, an impartial jury, a fair trial, and fair sentencing. Through the involvement of the NAACP, the International Labor Defense of the Communist Party of the U.S., the American Civil Liberties Union, and other organizations, a series of trials and retrials and appeals were conducted through to the Alabama State Supreme Court and twice to the U.S. Supreme Court. Trials extended more than six years with issues of clemency and parole and the welfare of the defendants extending for many years beyond; indeed, while the bulk of the documents in the collection date from 1931-1950, a few extend at least nominally to as late as 1970.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 07: The Anti-Lynching Campaign, 1912-1955, Series A: Anti-Lynching Investigative Files, 1912-1953

From 1882 through 1964, there were 4,742 recorded lynchings in the United States--3,445 of them black men and women. Mississippi led all states with a total of 539 black victims (plus forty-two whites), followed by Georgia with 492, Texas with 352, Louisiana with 335, and Alabama with 299. Not only did Black Americans become the primary victims of lynching from the 1880s on, but the conduct of the mobs became increasingly inhuman, with black men and women not merely hanged but tortured, mutilated, dismembered, burned, shot, and otherwise savagely murdered.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 07: The Anti-Lynching Campaign, 1912-1955, Series B: Anti-Lynching Legislative and Publicity Files, 1916-1955

This part of NAACP papers on lynching documents the work of the NAACP to support anti-lynching legislation in the first half of the twentieth century. In addition, the collection includes related materials on the organization's efforts to increase public awareness of the widespread prevalence of lynching, through educational campaigns such as conferences, mass rallies, speaking tours, fundraising campaigns, publicity stunts, literature, and the mass media. The collection contains significant documents on the NAACP's changing perceptions of black voting strength, the shift of black voters from the Republican to the Democratic Party in the 1920s and 1930s, and the careers of a number of national political figures ranging from southern conservatives to liberal civil rights activists.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 08: Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System, 1910-1955, Series A: Legal Department and Central Office Records, 1910-1939

This collection documents litigation by the NAACP in individual criminal defense cases before 1940 on behalf of plaintiffs alleging discriminatory treatment by courts and law enforcement.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 08: Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System, 1910-1955, Series B: Legal Department and Central Office Records, 1940-1955

This collection documents NAACP litigation on behalf of plaintiffs alleging discriminatory treatment by courts and law enforcement. The bulk of the material is arranged by individual case within five main categories: crime, extraditions, juries, police brutality, and rape. An additional set of documents chronicle NAACP involvement in the case of Isaac Woodard, a black World War II veteran jailed on a questionable charge of being drunk and disorderly, whose eyes were gouged out by Batesburg, South Carolina police chief Lynwood Shull. Shull was charged in federal court with violating Woodard's civil rights, but was acquitted.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 10: Peonage, Labor, and the New Deal, 1913-1939

This collection contains material from NAACP files on the general subject of employment discrimination, labor relations, working conditions, and NAACP-New Deal relations before 1940.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 15: Segregation and Discrimination, Complaints and Responses, 1940-1955, Series A: Legal Department Files

This collection brings together a large set of materials from the NAACP Legal Department that document complaints about racial segregation and exclusion in places of public accommodation and recreation, as well as interstate transportation, between 1940 and 1955. During this time period, complaints involving hotels, clubs, hospitals, restaurants, parks, playgrounds, beaches, common carriers, and transportation depots poured into the NAACP national office from branches and individuals all across the country. In addition, the collection includes documents that shed light on the fight against employment discrimination, as well as on segregation in organized sports. Most of the complaints were filed before the landmark Supreme Court school desegregation decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 15: Segregation and Discrimination, Complaints and Responses, 1940-1955, Series B: Administrative Files

This NAACP collection brings together a large number of documents on the problem of racial segregation and discrimination in public facilities and within private organizations. The records cover the period between 1940 and 1955--primarily the years leading up to the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared racial segregationist practices unconstitutional. The files selected for the collection are from the General Office File of the NAACP. This is a companion to Part 15, Series A of Papers of the NAACP, which reproduces selections covering segregation and discrimination from the NAACP Legal Department File during the same period.

Papers of the NAACP, Part 20: White Resistance and Reprisals, 1956-1965

This collection documents white resistance to the civil rights movement in the South between the mid-1950s and mid-1960s, as well as responses by the NAACP. The resistance was relentless and frequently violent, and included murders, lynchings, beatings, and acts of mob violence, as well as various legal and economic sanctions. Its targets ranged from local civil rights activists and NAACP leaders to ordinary citizens attempting to exercise the right to vote or patronize integrated facilities. In light of these events, the NAACP forcefully advocated extending federal jurisdiction into southern states in the interest of protecting the civil rights of U.S. citizens. This strategy contributed to the framing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making the documents here particularly significant.