ses 'Lift Every Voice: The NAACP And The Making Of The Civil Rights Movement.' From little known or forgotten facts about its early beginnings to its importance and relevance today, 'Lift Every Voice' chronicles the history of the venerable organization. Vernon Jordan and Julian Bond praised it as recommended reading during last week's NAACP convention in New York City, which coincided with the organization's 100th anniversary celebration, according to Gilda Squire, a publicist for the book. Both Jordan and Bond are respected African American civil rights leaders and are a part of the history of the NAACP, the nation's largest civil rights organization.
Sullivan, associate professor of history and African American Studies at the University of South Carolina and Fellow at the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard University, answers a few questions for BV Bookshelf about 'Lift Every Voice.'
Throughout your 10 years of research for 'Lift Every Voice,' was there anything you discovered that would surprise readers about the history of the NAACP or the people involved with its founding?
The history of the NAACP is a national story -- which plays out in all parts of the country. Years of research revealed how tough it was, in the South and in the North, to fight for racial justice at a time when segregation was the norm throughout the country, and often enforced by terror and violence. I was surprised by the fortitude, courage, and abiding belief in the founding principles of American democracy that sustained people across the decades, in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. The targeted legal campaign against Jim Crow, which led to the Brown [v. Board] decision-one of its great successes-took more than 20 years, and involved brilliant legal talent working in concert with communities across the South. The North offered a very different kind of challenge. The NAACP was founded in response to a race riot in Springfield, Ill.; reformers were determined to halt the spread of racial discrimination in the North. But during the course of the NAACP's long history, growing racial segregation in northern cities proved to be an illusive target. A decades-long fight against housing discrimination and segregation in the North won some victories but failed to reverse this trend. The segregation of African Americans into overcrowded and underserved neighborhoods created the foundation for many of the inequalities that persist today.
.jpg)
Opinions have been put forth since the inauguration of President Barack Obama that organizations like the NAACP are no longer relevant. Based on the history of the NAACP and the current state of our country, do you agree or disagree?
The NAACP led to the removal of overt racial barriers, including dismantling the caste system in the South and barriers to political participation-all of which made the election of a black man to the nation's highest office possible.
But deep racial inequalities persist. The majority of black children attend segregated and under resourced public schools, and it is reported that 50 percent of these students do not graduate from high school. Black unemployment is at least twice the rate of white unemployment. While they comprise 13 percent of the population, African Americans make up 40 percent of the prison population... Thus, the work of the NAACP remains deeply relevant to both maintain gains that have been made and remedy persistent racial inequalities.
Who were some of the more memorable players of the NAACP and what were their contributions?
The history of the NAACP is full of extraordinary individuals-some known, many unknown. W.E.B. Du Bois, a founder of the association, was a moving force for 25 years. As editor of The Crisis, the NAACP's magazine, Du Bois connected people across the nation in the fight against racial inequality, laying the foundation for a national civil rights movement. Several women played critical roles in the field, building the NAACP from the ground up-May Nerney, a former librarian of Irish descent, worked as the second executive secretary, and Kathryn M. Johnson, a former high school teacher from Kansas City, was the first full-time field worker. Together they led in organizing branches in the Midwest and the South in the years before World War I. Ella Baker, as director of branches, expanded the base of the NAACP in the South during World War II, laying the groundwork for the escalating attack on Jim Crow. Charles Houston, the NAACP's first Special Council, is a towering figure, who along with his former student Thurgood Marshall, implemented the legal campaign that culminated in the Brown decision.
What does your book offer that readers won't find in others about the Civil Rights Movement?
It broadens the Civil Rights Movement beyond the dramatic protests of the 1950s and 1960s, and places it at the center of American history during the 20th century. The book tells the stories of countless men and women, some well known, most not known at all, who worked together across several generations in the struggle for racial justice and an inclusive democracy. Their efforts laid the foundation for the great victories of the 1960s and also illuminated the challenges that remain.
bvbookshelf@aol.com
