The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (Coursework Sample)

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
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The American Civil War ended in 1865. In 1863, the southern slaves were freed under the President Lincoln’s Emancipation process. This was followed by several constitutional amendments such as the 13th Amendment which banned slavery in America, the 14th amendment granted all Americans (inclusive of former slaves) equal rights as provided by the American Law. The 15th amendment then gave the right to vote to all Americans regardless of race or any other form of discriminatory reasons. These amendments were done in 1865, 1868, and in 1870 respectively during the Republican Party’s reign after the assassination of President Lincoln in 1865. This might have seemed to many as the end of racial discrimination against the colored people, but it wasn’t. In fact, the end of slavery just opened doors to a new fashion of discrimination.
In 1877 racial equality took the back seat and the reigning party then-the Republican Party-put economic progression and national unity first. In the light of this, rules undermining racial equality as provided in the above amendments were by southern politicians. These now meant that discrimination had been formalized. The laws ideally did not replace the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments per se but sort ways of going around these legislations. The result was the disenfranchisement and segregation of the African Americans.
In 1896, the United States of American Supreme Court allowed for the provision that stated the 14th amendment would be executed in a manner that the races would be treated equally but in segregation. This in itself was a lie. Equality of the facilities and other basic rights was not there to start with not to mention that segregation which was a form of discrimination. Therefore, the 14th amendment had been undermined through this move. The southern politicians then moved methodically to undermine the 15th amendment, as well. To achieve this, they introduced tests ostensibly to verify the ability of individuals’ to cast votes. In addition, the southern politicians introduced poll taxes to the literacy tests. Put in mind that majority of the African Americans were not only illiterate but also poor. Needless to say, the above two measures were important ingredients of kicking out black people from polls which undermined the 15th amendment.
The 13th amendment, however, remained untouched. The new provisions were enforced through measures as sentencing, violence, and intimidation. There were groups that advocated for white supremacy at the time such as Ku Klux Klan that were responsible for violence against the African Americans that was aimed at making them get intimidated. However, one would be wrong to assume that this was not a fatal affair. These groups also murdered a handful of African Americans. These atrocities were mainly in the southern part of the United States and ultimately resulted into the great migration to the north and west of United States. In these new regions, the southerners did not experience segregation but suffered other forms of racial discrimination. In other words, there was no safe place from discrimination for the African Americans even after fleeing their homes. During the late years of 19th century and the early years of 20th century, there rose some African Americans who made major moves against these sorts of discrimination against their own people. Such included Washington and Du Bois. Washington, was of the idea that black institutions would help salvage the situation, but he was highly criticized by his counterpart Du Bois, who termed him as overly tolerant of segregation and white supremacy.
In 1905, Dubois and 29 followers formed the Niagara Movement which advocated for the rights of all Americans (social, economic, and political rights). This movement only made way for the NAACP. In 1908, there was a race riot in Springfield, Illinois where six African Americans were killed, about fifty were injured, and many more fled their homes. In 1909, in New York City the National Negro Conference was formed. This came to be renamed the NAACP in 1910. Du Bois was the first director of research and publications of this movement. He was also the first African American executive director of this movement. By 1919, the NAACP had 220 branches in US.
The growth of NAACP is attributed to its campaigns against African American discrimination. For instance, in 1915 Griffith’s Birth of a Nation, a film that promoted discrimination against African Americans was protested against by the NAACP outside cinemas in the US. The NAACP also lobbied for the inclusion of African American soldiers in the First World War where it succeeded. However, after the war the war veterans were not recognized and again the whites majority went ahead to stump their authority and supremacy amidst African American riots in the US.
The NAACP did not falter in its war against African Americans’ discrimination. The movement took this battle to the Supreme Court where monumental victories were registered. “In Oklahoma, disenfranchising legislations were struck down due to their undermining of the 15th amendment in 1915”. “In Louisville, Kentucky, laws that affirmed racial segregation were set aside in 1923”.
In later years, the NAACP leadership shifted to African Americans. Another major achievement was the deterring of the appointment of Judge Parker into the Supreme Court by President Hoover, due to his vociferous opposition of voting rights of the African Americans in 1930. The NAACP has made several achievements such as those challenging the racial diversities in US schools. “The NAACP since its invention in 1910 remains the biggest movement against racial discrimination in United States and has registered commensurate achievements”.
It is correct to say that the African Americans live better lives today than in the past, but nothing is further from the truth than the assumption that the fight for equality in United States of America is over. Today, United States has an African American president, President Barrack Obama, but racial discrimination against colored and particularly against black people in US still persists. Arguably, the African Americans are not being enslaved in present America but face other kinds of discrimination such as eco...