NAACP and the African American experience

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has been very instrumental and detrimental to the African American experience. This, among other organizations, was formed to fight discrimination and oppression (Karenga, 169). This civil rights organization just had it’s 100th anniversary and with that we see just how far our nation has come. It’s mission states “to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.” This statement helps us to understand just what exactly this association does. The NAACP was such a powerful force behind African American’s and their lives because these are the people who were really looking for a change and equality in their lives. The NAACP was a key factor in campaigns against lynching and Jim Crowism, two things that effected the African American community (Karenga, 169). The Oklahoma NAACP contributed to the history of civil rights movement by adding to the fight against desegregation in Oklahoma. Keep in mind Oklahoma experienced some horrible racism having the terrible Tulsa race riots occurring in it’s own state. Oklahoma’s NAACP also had a part in Clara Luper’s sit-in movement which occurred during the 1950’s. These sit-ins soon were successful and Clara and the NAACP were victorious in fighting for black rights. We can thank Clara Luper and the NAACP for the end of segregation in public places throughout Oklahoma.

The legal movement aided in the civil rights movement because the legal movement looked at the fact that women were now able to vote and black men were demanding their rights to vote as well. When looking at women’s suffrage they soon after allowed white women to vote in elections. With white women in a higher position then black males, the African American males challenged the whites to become equal. With their victory came the right for all qualified poll tax payers to vote in the local primary and eventually others were inspired by this and followed suit with other cases.

Some similarities between the NAACP’s relevance to the African American experience and the legal movement would include that now that the NAACP is there to create equality among it’s citizens and that’s exactly what the legal movement did as well. The legal movement made it equal and fair for all poll tax paying citizens to vote. The NAACP also looked into making things fair and equal for African Americans and all citizens and while that is not the exact same as the legal movement it definitely shares some relevance with it.

Reconstruction was a time in America that represented great possibility to realize the ideals of freedom, equality and justice for all but it also was a time of disappointment  and betrayed it’s own ideas (Karenga, 163). Basically reconstruction looked at the transformation of the South, the abolishment of slavery, and establishing the rights of all freed slaves. Most say it was not a success and when looking at the history one has to agree. The blacks were forced into semi-enslaved status because the federal government failed to give Blacks land and equipment, the white terrorist societies like the KKK rose to power, the supreme court’s eroding constitutional and legislative gains for Blacks through rulings favorable to the South all were reasons that reconstruction in the South did not succeed.

Currently, the NAACP is still advocating civil rights for citizens and their communities. They are also conducting voter mobilization. They still continue their role as legal advocate for civil rights issues along with focusing on some other issues such as educational development for our youth. With more then 500,000 members the association is still going strong and advocating citizens and their rights. 

After listening to our two guest speakers I have realized just how much more important African and African American history and it’s studies are. I learned new things and about new people I had never heard of, and just how big of a difference those people had made in other’s lives. Learning about people like Clara Luper and what a big difference she made just being from Oklahoma, and Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher was amazing and really makes you think how much just one person can do to change our lives. The speakers we had in class were very informative and I found them to be really interesting.