The NAACP

In 1909, the NAACP was formed by African Americans and white liberals. The organization still exists today, working to fight against the injustice of America. It has been instrumental in the African American experience, historically, because it has led African Americans to be where they are today. Many actions had to take place, and during the beginning years of the organization, “the NAACP went on to launch and win effective campaigns against lynching and Jim Crowism, and to secure the vote” (Karenga, 169). The Oklahoma NAACP has contributed to the history of the civil rights movement, specifically with the sit-in of Clara Luper in 1958. She was the “advisor for the Oklahoma City NAACP Youth Council” (Decker, Internet). Luper and the Youth Council, then, went to Katz Drug Store and sat at the lunch counter. This act began the sit-in movements that occurred across the United States.
Some ways that the legal movement contributed to the Civil Rights Movement were that it gave African Americans a sight for how the law wasn’t fair, and it gave them a reason to stand up for what was right. Many African Americans from across the country participated in the Sit-In Movement after the first one of Clara Luper in 1958. Rosa Parks refused to move from her seat on the bus because she knew that it was not right. This began the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which African Americans banded together to fight against segregation. This boycott spread throughout the South and was “an effective instrument of breaking down segregation barriers” (Karenga, 186). There are some similarities between the NAACP’s relevance to the African American experience and the legal movement because they both have structure. The NAACP was a way to “fight against injustice” (Karenga, 169) and it fought to give Blacks rights that they did not have years before. The 13th, 14th and 15th amendments were established for African Americans’ freedom.
The period of Reconstruction was a time that African Americans endured but also a time they wanted to forget. After the Civil War, laws were set up to help ensure the rights of African Americans, but whites did not follow through with these laws. The laws came from the Freedmen’s Bureau which was “to guide and protect the freed Africans”. As much as the Africans wanted their freedom, whites did not provide a sense of hope. Reconstruction had many chances to be successful for African Americans, but it was not. Some of the reasons that Reconstruction failed include “the failure of the federal government to give Blacks land and equipment…” and “the rise of the white terrorist societies like the KKK and the Camelias in spite of the 1870 and 1871 laws against such societies” (Karenga 165).
The NAACP still exists today, and it is still fighting against injustice. They work with people trying to get their needs and rights obtained. Mr. Douglas, the President of the Oklahoma NAACP, spoke with us about what they are about and an example that really stood out was talking about teachers and helping them get the salary that they deserve. They fight for what is best and since Mr. Douglas and Mrs. Williams came, a group of students are trying to start up an NAACP program. Since their visit, I am becoming even more interested in the African American experience. Mrs. Williams was telling the class about her life and the hard times she had to deal with. I have never met anyone personally who dealt with so much: not being able to read until the age of 53 (I believe is what she said) just amazes and hurts me, especially because I am going to be a teacher. To not know how to read and write and going through college only on a track scholarship is unbelievable. Hearing about the NAACP and what it has done and what it is doing and hearing Mrs. Williams’s story really makes me want to go out and make a difference.

http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/L/LU005.html
http://www.rose.edu/EOCRHC/Oral-Luper,C.htm