The Story of My Search
“Could it be that I am dreaming without realizing it?”I
said to myself I few minutes immediately it was confirmed that I would be
presenting before NAACP. It is not that I don’t believe in myself. It is quite
in the contrary. I have always believed in my capabilities within the
acceptable limits. It is a virtue my parents instilled in me early on in my
life. Presenting before NAACP only meant that there was yet another opportunity
for me to validate my capabilities. But I have to admit that presenting before
others has a way of making even the bravest of persons feel unease. This is
especially so when you have no idea of the possible questions at the
presentation. The kind of questions that went through my mind were many: When
was the organization formed? Who were the instrumental people behind that
foundation? What have been the achievements of NAACP?
I already knew that NAACP was one of the organizations
that played important roles in the civil rights struggles in the U.S. I was
also able to associate the names of some important people at NAACP whenever I
had the mention of their names. Beyond that, I must confess that much of my
understanding of NAACP was merely speculative.
History, especially of the different demographics in the
U.S, has always been a favorite subject ever since my childhood. I remember my
parents chiding me for being overly inquisitive even on issues that seemed not
to have any value. This passion for the history of different cultures in
America saw me closely follow ways in which people of different color organize
themselves in the country. It explains why I landed the opportunity to present
before NAACP. Since I wanted to make the presentation successful, I wanted to
know more about NAACP. Could it be that what I knew of NAACP was not actually
true?
The first step was to make a list of all that I wanted to
know about NAACP. It was possible from that list to come up with an appropriate
research question: How much do I know about NAACP? My knowledge at the moment
was very limited. That answer was very different after going through the search
process. For instance, I initially had no idea of the time when NAACP was
created.
Due to the time constraints under which I had to work,
the search did not take too long. The point of departure was an online search
using NAACP as the keyword. It was
surprising that google search returned about 10,000 results just for that
simple keyword. The first site to display on my results was one maintained by
NAACP itself. Other websites belonged to
different groups and organizations such as newspapers. I was able to evaluate the websites and read
much of the information in the ones I thought were credible. My first draft
came from that reading.
The second phase of my search involved seeking out and
conducting interviews with people who had information about NAACP. I actually
managed to speak to one person who was well known to have been an active member
of NAACP throughout his life. He only agreed to my interview on a condition of
anonymity. The interview also clarified so many questions I had on NAACP.
The last phase of my search was conducted in a physical
library. The librarians were very helpful as they showed me books and other
publication on NAACP. It was at this phase of my search that I went through the
Reader’s Guide to Periodic Literature
and was able to get numerous articles. At the end of it all, I had a great deal
of information.
Throughout the search process, my research question
remained: How much do I know about NAACP? But the search had given me the
opportunity to refine the things I actually needed to know. This led me narrow
down on four areas that would be necessary for my presentation: the founding
and origins of NAACP, important undertakings, achievements and challenges.
The Results of My Search
On 12 February 1909, six individuals came together in
calling for the renewal of the struggle for civil and political liberty (NAACP).
Those individuals were Ida Wells-Barnett, W.E.B. DuBois, Henry Moscowitz, Mary
White Ovington, Oswald Garrison Villiard, and William English Walling. That day
was made to coincide with the centennial celebrations of the birth of Abraham
Lincoln. Titled ‘Call for the Lincoln Emancipation Conference in 1909,’ 60
leaders from across the racial divide. It was, however, not until 1910 when the
Conference adopted the name of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP) was formed. The main goal, and which remains to date,
was to fight for equality. The stage was not set to fight for the enforcement
of both the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.
Lynching of blacks was very rife around the time when
NAACP was founded. It, therefore, lobbied for a federal law against lynching
(NAACP). This approach was made difficult by the fact that Southern members of
the Senate used legal loopholes to prevent any legislative action. Reasoning
that the judiciary was less likely to be influenced by the color of a person’s
skin, NAACP decided to pursue its goals through this avenue.
The immediate decades following NAACP’s existence, it won
several legal battles. In the 1917 case of Buchanan
v. Warley, the Supreme Court was convinced by NAACP that segregation of
African Americans in residential districts was unconstitutional (NAACP). It was
also around this time that NAACP won the fight for the commissioning of African
Americans into the military. Another win was in the 1946 case of Morgan v.
Virginia. The case saw states banned from passing laws having segregated
transport facilities. It all won the case against segregation in education in
the 1954 case of Brown v.Board of
Education. In a word, the NAACP has been very instrumental in securing
equality throughout its existence. The organization also runs the Crisis
magazine founded by W.E.B Dubois.
Even with the achievements, the organization has also
faced numerous challenges. At the beginning, there were those states and
communities who did not want to do away with the privileges that they enjoyed
at the expense of the black. They therefore fought back. It continues to focus
on advocacy in the areas it has always championed.
After doing the research, I concluded that it enabled me
to know so much of the things I initially had no idea about. Below are the
specific things that came out:
1. Formation of NAACP: I came to realize that the
founders of NAACP came from very diverse grounds.
2. Successes and Failures: I also came to know that the
organization has been very instrumental in almost all milestones in the civil
rights movement.
3. Current focus: I have learnt that NAACP continues to
pursue equality even if in different ways.
Reflections on My Search
I had initially thought that it would only take a short
time to conduct the research. This, however, happened not to be the case.
Nevertheless, the whole exercise has left me with good planning and
organizational skills. There was just too much to learn about NAACP and I had
to learn how to scope my work. In essence, the experience was good.
Work Cited
NAACP Press Kit. The History of NAACP.Web 2013.
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