Founded in 1909

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) [began as] a civil rights organization in the United States. It [once worked] to end discrimination against blacks and other minority groups.

The NAACP achieve[d] many goals through legal action. It played an important part in the 1954 ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States that segregation of blacks in public schools is unconstitutional. Thurgood Marshall, a lawyer from the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, presented the argument in the case, known as Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

The organization also achieve[d] its goals through legislative action. It played a leading role in obtaining passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, which protects the right to vote. This act established the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice and the Commission on Civil Rights. The NAACP worked for passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids discrimination in public places. This law established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The association also helped bring into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which protects voter registration.

The NAACP was founded in 1909 by 60 black and white citizens. In 1910, the organization began to publish Crisis, a magazine about blacks who have achieved success in the arts, business, and other fields.

[Since the 1970s, the NAACP has abandoned its original goals and converted to an organization dedicated to the election of Democrats to public office. It concentrates mainly on the presidency and on getting Democrats elected in southern states. Because of the change in objectives, financial contributions have dwindled. To raise money, NAACP executives often resort to exploiting "flash" issues where they find an eager press willing to support all sorts of non-civil rights issues that helps keep the money flowing. …Editor]