The month of February has been recognized as Black History Month since 1976, and USFCR has maintained a proud partnership with organizations, such as the National Black Chamber of Commerce, to help the African American community. Today, USFCR gives special attention to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). NAACP Day, which falls every February 12, celebrates the organization’s 1909 founding by a diverse group of legal experts, suffragists, civil rights activists, labor reformers, and others who sought to counter violence and racism against the Black community in the United States. ^[1] Dedicated to the goal of an integrated society, the NAACP stands as the nation’s oldest civil rights organization. ^[2] From its conception in the early 20^th century to its work present day, the NAACP continues to work towards the betterment of the African American community.

 NAACP HISTORY

The NAACP formed when progressive whites joined forces with young blacks from the Niagara Movement, a group dedicated to full civil and political rights for African Americans, to end the practice of lynching. ^[3] Founding members included W. E. B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Mary Church Terrell, William English Walling, Mary White Ovington, Oswald Garrison Villard, and Dr. Henry Moskowitz, amongst others. ^[4] With a strong emphasis on local organization, the NAACP established branch offices in cities such as Baltimore, Boston, Detroit, Kansas City, Washington D.C., and St. Louis; by 1919, the NAACP had more than 300 local branches with around 90,000 members. ^[5]

In November 1910, W. E. B. Du Bois released the premier issue of The Crisis, a publication uncovering facts and arguments that showed the danger of race prejudice, particularly as those manifested toward colored people. ^[6] The magazine became an organ of the NAACP and, at its most popular, took on contemporary politics, essays, and creative writing pieces such as the poetry of Langston Hughes. ^[7]

From its infancy the NAACP boldly reached out to federal officials and fought in an effort to bring about social change and advance civil rights. President Woodrow Wilson’s broadly defined “Progressive” movement sought to mitigate economic and social inequalities at the turn of the 20^th century, and topics such as segregation, civil rights, immigration, prohibition of alcohol, child labor laws, women’s suffrage, public health services, unionization, and economic regulation fell within the “Progressive” umbrella. ^[8] 

However, Wilson believed that segregating the federal government was in the best interest of African Americans, which dissatisfied the NAACP. ^[9] President Calvin Coolidge had a history of championing civil rights during his political career and began amicable interactions between the NAACP and future presidential officials. In response to eighty-one men arrested after a riot held in Houston, Texas—conducted by the Black 24^th Infantry regiment to condemn police brutality—the NAACP approached President Coolidge in an attempt to pardon them. ^[10] Coolidge ultimately reduced everyone’s sentence and released twenty men by February 1924. ^[11] 

The 1920s and 1930s continued to ignite the organization’s dedication to see an integrated society and fought injustices such as racial violence, denial of voting rights, segregated public facilities, and discrimination in employment. ^[12] The onset of the Great Depression and clashes with other individuals consequentially caused challenges to the NAACP, but they persisted. The Great Depression of the 1930s brought a loss in membership due to the inability to pay annual fees, and the backdrop of increased racial discrimination in the economic sphere and mass poverty caused younger NAACP activists to embrace socialist ideas—viewing the plight of African Americans as one of class rather than race. ^[13] Realizing that the NAACP, under executive secretary Walter White, created a new legal defense fund that formed a cadre of African American lawyers to fight the Association’s cases through the courts. [14]

Historical court cases that the NAACP participated in must also be recognized. Guinn v. United States (1915) affirmed that the “grandfather clause” in Oklahoma’s Voter Registration Act of 1910, which allowed those whose grandfathers were entitled to vote in 1866 to register without passing a literacy test, violated the Fifteenth Amendment. [15] Buchanan v. Warley (1917) reversed the Kentucky Court of Appeals’ decision to segregate black and white residents. [16] Pearson v. Murray (Md. 1936), Missouri ex rel Gaines v. Canada (1938), Sweat v. Painter (1950), and McLaurin v. Oklahoma Board of Regents of Higher Education (1950) all fought racial discrimination and allowed black individuals to attend higher education or law school alongside their white counterparts. [17] Brown v. Board of Education would be monumental for the NAACP. Along with families and activists, they used litigation to ensure that all students accessed an equitable education and transitioned to a more diverse and inclusive public education system. [18] On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court declared that racial segregation in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and overturned Plessy v. Ferguson. [19] In 1976, President Gerald Ford issued a message recognizing February as Black History Month. [20] Since then, presidents have annually proclaimed February as Black History Month.

NAACP TODAY & ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The NAACP continues to utilize the court system to ensure the civil rights of the African American community.

In honor of NAACP Day, USFCR provides resources to assist African American businesses, nonprofits, and individuals.

• NAACP: Partnering with other organizations, NAACP offers grants to black-owned businesses to promote minority entrepreneurship. 

• National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC): The NBCC works to stimulate economic empowerment and sustainability in African American communities by focusing on entrepreneurship and capitalistic activities.

• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA): SBA offers a variety of sources for minority-owned businesses to form partners, receive counseling and training, or gain more information in relation to SBA contracting certifications and business development programs.

• Black Connect: This organization offers black-owned businesses resources to eliminate the racial wealth gap in America.
  
  
• The African American Development Officers (AADO) Network: This organization provides education, employment support, mentorship, professional development, and networking opportunities for fundraisers of color across North America. 
  
  
• Men of Color in Development (MOCID): An affinity group of the African American Development Officers, Network, MOCID offers many networking activities, discussions, and memberships that support industry men of color.
  
  
• Women of Color (WOC) in Fundraising and Philanthropy: This organization assists women of color with resources and support to promote fundraising and philanthropy in communities around the world.
  
  
• Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy: This network offers resources, membership, and career development opportunities for new and existing professionals in philanthropy.   
  
  
• Support Black Charities: This organization connects small and medium-sized charitable organizations to community supporters that can uplift African American communities.
  
  
• Fundraising N Black: This organization promotes philanthropy and connects black nonprofit leaders, founders, and fundraisers to transform their fundraising
  
  
• Black Freedom Collective (BFC): This coalition focuses on black-led community organizing groups investing in the sustainable cultural, economic and social infrastructure of African American communities. 
  
  
• Charity Navigator: This resource allows organizations to support black-funded charities across the country.
  
  
• The Commonwealth Fund: The Fund supports independent research on healthcare issues and seeks to improve healthcare policies and practices, especially towards society’s most vulnerable populations (i.e. the uninsured, low-income individuals, BIPOCs, etc.).
  
  
• Rodale Institute/Foodshed Capital: The BIPOC Farmer Micro-Grant Program offers up to $2,000 to BIPOC farmers in need of support towards organic farming. Acceptable funding includes equipment, consulting, education, software, etc.
  
  
• The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF): Their Health Policy Research Scholars (HPRS) program offers second-year doctoral students of diverse backgrounds committed to research that works to advance antiracism and structural change work aligned with the health needs of the most impacted communities.
  
  
• Wish Local: The Wish Local Empowerment Program offers up to $2,000 to U.S. small black-owned businesses for financial support and growth. Funds can be used for salaries, rent, community activities, building their customer base, or operating costs. 
  
  
• Maryland Philanthropy Network: Its Revolve Fund offers grants and in-kind support to U.S. BIPOC-led businesses and nonprofits looking to improve access to interest-free capital.
  
  
• Borealis Philanthropy: The Racial Equity in Journalism (REJ) Fund supports U.S. BIPOC-led for-profits and nonprofits to nourish and build the capacity and sustainability of both news organizations and journalism ecosystem partners. 

Citations

1. “History and the Census: The 1909 Founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).” United States Census Bureau online. Last reviewed December 31, 2024. https://www.census.gov/about/history/stories/monthly/2024/february-2024.html#:~:text=History%20and%20the%20Census%3A%20The,Advancement%20of%20Colored%20People%20(NAACP)&text=U.S.%20Census%20Bureau%20alumni%20W.E.B.,)%20on%20February%2012%2C%201909 
2. Separate But Not Equal. “The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.” Smithsonian National Museum of American History. February 5, 2025. https://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/3-organized/naacp.html#:~:text=Founded%20in%201909%2C%20the%20NAACP,employment%2C%20and%20segregated%20public%20facilities
3. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. “National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).” Stanford University. Accessed February 2, 2025. https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/national-association-advancement-colored-people-naacp#:~:text=The%20NAACP%20was%20formed%20in,civil%20rights%20for%20African%20Americans. 
4. “Our History.” NAACP. Accessed January 23, 2025. https://naacp.org/about/our-history#:~:text=Some%2060%20people%2C%20seven%20of,civil%20rights%20organization%20was%20born.
5. NAACP, “Our History.”
6. “History Of the Crisis.” NAACP. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/history-crisis 
7. Wise, Alana. “The NAACP publication that was once a major source of news, poetry and essays.” NPR. February 1, 2024. https://www.npr.org/2024/02/01/1228462703/the-naacp-publication-that-was-once-a-major-source-of-news-poetry-and-essays#:~:text=ALANA%20WISE%2C%20BYLINE%3A%20A%20year,%22danger%20of%20race%20prejudice.%22
8. “Progressive Era Politics.” President Wilson House. Accessed February 5, 2025. https://woodrowwilsonhouse.org/wilson-topics/woodrow-wilson-domestic-policy/ 
9. Johnson, Joshua. “NAACP and the White House.” The White House Historical Association. December 15, 2021. https://www.whitehousehistory.org/naacp-and-the-white-house 
10. Johnson, “NAACP and the White House.”
11. Johnson, “NAACP and the White House.”
12. Separate But Not Equal, “The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.” 
13. Berg, Manfred. “National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.” Oxford African American Studies Center. December 1, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1093/acref/9780195301731.013.45963 
14. Stakeman, Randy and Jackson Stakeman. “The NAACP in the Great Depression.” The Walter White Project. June 1, 2012. http://nicestkids.com/nehvectors/stakeman/test-page 
15. Alfred L. Brophy. “Guinn v. United States (1915).” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Last Updated July 24, 2024. https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=GU001. 
16. "Buchanan v. Warley." Oyez. Accessed February 5, 2025. https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/245us60.
17. “History—Brown v. Board of Education Re-enactment.” United States Courts. Accessed February 5, 2025. https://www.uscourts.gov/about-federal-courts/educational-resources/educational-activities/brown-v-board-education-re-enactment/history-brown-v-board-education-re-enactment 
18. “History of Brown c. Board of Education.” NAACP. Accessed February 5, 2025. https://naacp.org/history-brown-v-board-education#:~:text=schools%20was%20unconstitutional.-,Brown%20v.,desegregation%20of%20schools%20across%20America. 
19. “Timeline of Events Leasing to the Brown v. Board of Education Decision of 1954.” National Archives. Last Updated June 7, 2021. https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/brown-v-board/timeline.html 
20. Luecke, Mirelle. “Recognition of Black History Month.” National Archives. February 1, 2024. https://ford.blogs.archives.gov/2024/02/01/recognition-of-black-history-month/ 

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