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About the NAACP
Since its inception the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was poised for a long, tumultuous and rewarding history. Although it may be possible to chronicle the challenging and harrowing legacy of the NAACP, the real story of the nation's most significant civil rights organization lies in the hearts and minds of the people who would not stand still while the rights of some of America's darker citizens were denied.
From the ballot box to the classroom, the dedicated workers, organizers, and leaders who forged this great organization and maintain its status as a champion of social justice, fought long and hard to ensure that the voices of African Americans would be heard. The legacy of those pioneers such as W.E.B DuBois, Thurgood Marshall and Roy Wilkins and the hundreds of thousands of nameless faces who worked tirelessly can not and must not be forgotten.
The history of the NAACP, is one of blood sweat and tears. From bold investigations of mob brutality, protests of mass murders, segregation and discrimination, to testimony before congressional committees on the vicious tactics used to bar African Americans from the ballot box, it was the talent and tenacity of NAACP members that saved lives and changed many negative aspects of American society. While much of its history is chronicled in books, articles, pamphlets and magazines, the true movement lies in the faces—black, white, yellow, red, and brown—united to awaken the conscientiousness of a people, and a nation. This is the legacy of the NAACP!
Brief History of the NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded on February 12, 1909. After a race riot in Springfield, Illinois in 1908, "The Call" went out to Northerners to find a way to create social equality. In 1909, a group of multi-racial activists held a conference in New York City in response to "The Call" and decided to form the NAACP (originally called the National Negro Committee). Among the founders were W.E.B. DuBois, Ida Wells-Barnett, Henry Moscowitz, Oswald Garrison Villiard, Mary White Ovington, and William English Walling.
Since its founding, the NAACP has been most successful in the areas of legal redress. Other areas of activity have included political action to secure enactment of civil-rights laws, programs of education and public information to win popular support, and direct action to achieve specific goals. In 1939 the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund was established independently of the NAACP to act as the legal arm of the Civil Rights Movement, and it was the NAACP's legal council that carried to the Supreme Court the case (Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka) that resulted in the high court's landmark 1954 school-desegregation decision. The organization moved its headquarters from New York City to Baltimore in 1986.
For more detailed history and timelines see our RESOURCES page |
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Mission of the NAACP
The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.
Vision of the NAACP
The vision of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights and there is no racial hatred or racial discrimination.
Objectives of the NAACP
The following statement of objectives is found on the first page of the NAACP Constitution — the principal objectives of the Association shall be:
- To ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of all citizens
- To achieve equality of rights and eliminate race prejudice among the citizens of the United States
- To remove all barriers of racial discrimination through democratic processes
- To seek enactment and enforcement of federal, state, and local laws securing civil rights
- To inform the public of the adverse effects of racial discrimination and to seek its elimination
- To educate persons as to their constitutional rights and to take all lawful action to secure the exercise thereof, and to take any other lawful action in furtherance of these objectives, consistent with the NAACP's Articles of Incorporation and this Constitution.
History of the Lake Elsinore Branch
In 1976 a number of concerned citizens assembled at the home of Jim and Ethel McGowan (deceased) under the encouragement of Virginia Green Phillips to bring a NAACP branch to Lake Elsinore and Ameal Moore of the Riverside NAACP worked as a liason to help the fledgling group with the application and getting the membership organized to create a vibrant and active force in the community.
Virginia Phillips (deceased) was the original President. Sonja Williams (now Wilson) was the Secretary, Flora Frazier was the Membership Chair, Dan Tindell (deceased) was Treasurer and Jim McGowan served as an advisor to the group on a number of important matters.
Lake Elsinore NAACP Branch # 1034 received its charter in 1977 and became functional. The original group had a membership of more than fifty (which was the requirement) and continues to reach out to the public today in support of civil rights issues in a spirit of 'justice for all.'
Two of the charter members are still alive and continue to support the organization.
In recent years, the Lake Elsinore branch has reached out to surrounding communities in the southwest Riverside county area including the communities of Corona, Temecula Valley, Canyon Lake, Perris, Sun City, Menifee, Hemet and San Jacinto. We welcome anyone in these communities to join us in our unified effort to support democracy and social justice in Riverside county.
NAACP Committees
Each of the following committees are working committees. In other words by serving on a committee, you are going to be actively involved in making a difference in the community. By pooling your knowledge and wisdom with others, you will be able to create a strong voice which will effectively advocate for social justice in Southwest Riverside County. Today there are many issues within the community that need your support, not simply by being a member but by actively getting involved in the work of the NAACP. If you decide to serve on an NAACP committee, we recommend that you select one that benefits your education, training, experience, interests or one where you think you will be able to learn from working with others and make a valuable contribution.
| Executive |
The Executive Committee serves as the branch's board of directors. The branch officers who hold the primary positions on this committee, all standing committee chairpersons are also on the executive committee. However, the main purpose of the executive committee is to oversee all of the branch's operations. Each committee must submit a report to the executive committee on the issues it faces in the community.
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| Membership |
The Membership Committee shall: (1) work throughout the year to maintain and increase the membership of the Association; (2) be responsible for planning and organizing the annual membership campaign; and (3) be responsible on a continuous basis for soliciting new members and for securing renewals.
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| Finance |
The Finance Committee establishes the annual Branch Budget, and monitors on-going operating expenses to ensure the financial solvency of the Branch.
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| Legal Redress |
The Legal Redress Committee is responsible for establishing a process for the receipt and handling of complaints filed with the Branch. It reviews and investigates complaints filed with the Branch or received from the Executive Committee.
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| Communications |
The Communications Committee shall seek to promote media content consistent with fundamental NAACP goals which include the elimination of racial isolation and fear and the furtherance of multiracial and cultural understanding.
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| Community Relations |
The Community Relations Committee shall enlist the support of other community organizations on issues affecting the interest of minority groups.
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| Education |
The Committee on Education shall:
(1) seek to eliminate segregation and other
discriminatory practices in public education; (2) study local educational conditions affecting minority groups; (3) investigate the public school system and school zoning; (4) and familiarize itself with textbook material there from which is racially derogatory; (5) seek to stimulate school attendance; (6) keep informed of school conditions and strive to correct abuses where found; and (7) aim to be a center of popular education on the race question and on the work of the Association.
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| Health Care |
The Health Care Committee shall: (1) work to promote, protect and maintain the health of African Americans; (2) access the health needs of the community; (3) advocate for equal access to health education, care, treatment and research for all American; (4) sponsor health-related activities such as health forums, fairs, and workshops highlighting issues of importance to people of color; and (5) support health initiatives of the Association.
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| Housing |
The Committee on Housing shall: (1) study housing conditions in the local community; (2) receive and seek to address complaints of discrimination; (3) oppose all restrictive practices whether public or private; and (4) disseminate information and tender such other action as may eliminate discrimination in housing. (5) The Economic Development Committee implements local efforts and support national programs to preserve and expand economic empowerment among African-Americans and other communities of color.
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| Freedom Fund |
Shall plan and conduct fund-raising activities, including entertainment and other projects, for local and national purposes within the scope of the Association's program.
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| Labor and Industry |
This Committee shall seek ways to improve the economic status of all minority groups by (1) working to eliminate discriminatory employment practices; (2) encouraging greater participation in the trade union movement; (3) working to end discriminatory practices in labor unions; (4) securing the enactment of state and federal fair employment practice legislation; (5) working for improved opportunities in vocational and apprenticeship training.
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| Political Action |
The Political Action Committee seeks to: (1) increase registration and voting; (2) work for the enactment of municipal, state and federal legislation designed to improve the educational, political and economic status of minority groups; (3) seek the repeal of racially discriminatory legislation; (4) work to improve the administration of justice; (5) work to secure equal enforcement of the law; (6) keep the National Office and the Branch informed of all proposed legislation which affects minority groups. The Committee shall be nonpartisan and shall not endorse candidates for public office.
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| Press and Publicity |
The Press and Publicity Committee shall: (1) endeavor to secure publicity for the work of the Branch and the Association in the local press and on radio, television and other media; (2) attempt to interest persons in charge of local news media on conditions affecting minority groups; (3) seek to counteract derogatory and erroneous statements in local news media about Blacks, and other minority groups.
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| Religious Affairs |
The Religious Affairs Committee shall include ministerial and lay religious leaders who are members of the Branch. It shall: (1) promote an educational program designed to give moral and ethical interpretation to the civil rights struggle; (2) interpret the work of the Association to organized religious groups of all faiths; (3) enlist the support of such organized religious groups for membership, fundraising, and the struggle for equality and full civil rights; (4) provide resource assistance for religious education and social action activities, associated with the improvement of race relations.
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