Thirty Years Of Lynching

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A primary focus of the NAACP was to end lynching. They educated people by pamphlets, and other educational activities hoping to end the crime. In 1917 the NAACP lead a silent protest parade through Harlem with drums to protest the violent riots committed by white people. The parade was a step forwards towards the Harlem Renaissance. In 1919, they published a report called Thirty Years of Lynching in the United States, 1989-1918. Due to their efforts, the NAACP was able to get the Republican Party during the 1920’s campaign to urge Congress to end lynching. A couple years later the House passed an anti-lynching bill by Congressman Leonidas Dyer, but the Southerners in the senate killed the bill. Even though the bill did not pass, the NAACP had …show more content…
Critics arose during this time declaring that the NAACP was not meeting the needs of the impoverished blacks. This shows how much the African American community had come to depend on the NAACP. They wanted the NAACP to attack the economic system that deprived so many African Americans of opportunities. African Americans did not have labor union protection like white people had which left them at a disadvantage. These critics such as Dr. Abram and Ralph Bunche wanted the NAACP to fight for the economic rights of African Americans as well. In response, the NAACP started an investigation on Mississippi Flood Control project where African American workers were receiving 10 cents per hour. The NAACP sent out to members to work in disguise in order to expose them. The men were able to get information and evidence but barley escaped death. Their investigation quadrupled the hourly pay and minimized the weekly work to thirty hours. Their criticism continue thought as their critics claimed they did not have an economic program or philosophy. For that reason, a committee met to reinforce economic concerns and inequality between black and white workers. Branches all over the nation protested and boycotted businesses that did not offer African American jobs or reduced their pay. While this is going on, the NAACP was also very active in ending the negative imagine the media portrayed of …show more content…
They made efforts for equal treatment and opportunities for African Americans in the military and heavily war industries. They also focused on education and continued their long battle to pass an ant-lynching law especially after the war. The NAACP wanted civil rights protection against mob violence. An important victory for the NAACP was gaining the support of President Harry Truman for their cause. In fact, Truman would be the first president to ever attend an NAACP conference. In 1947 Truman attended the thirty-eight annual convention in Washington. In his long speech, Truman began with “I should like to talk to you briefly about civil rights and human freedom. It is my deep conviction that we have reached a turning point in the long history of our country's efforts to guarantee a freedom and equality to all our citizens. Recent events in the United States and abroad have made us realize that it is more important today than ever before to insure that all Americans enjoy these rights. And when I say all Americans -- I mean all Americans.” President Truman would go on to ban segregation in the armed forces and the NAACP made sure it was implemented. In 1951, the NAACP had 1,253 branches that comprised of youth councils, college chapters and a membership total of 210,000. In the 1950s the NAACP gained momentum to ending separate but equal. They won cases like Sweatt v. Painter, McLaurin v. Oklahoma that