[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 29 (Thursday, February 12, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2209-S2210]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NAACP
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise to speak on the 100th anniversary
of the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People, NAACP, and to congratulate this remarkable organization
on its historic achievements.
In the summer of 1908, a race riot took place in Springfield, IL, my
hometown and the hometown of President Abraham Lincoln. A mob of White
residents destroyed homes and businesses owned by African Americans,
and forced thousands of Black residents to flee Springfield. Two
prominent Black men were lynched within half a mile of the home
President Lincoln had owned and within 2 miles of his grave.
One of these two men was William Donnegan, a longtime resident of
Springfield who was a friend of President Lincoln and the cobbler who
made the President's boots. The mob went to Mr. Donnegan's home, cut
his throat and lynched him in a school yard across the street.
These tragic events were widely reported at the time and shocked the
Nation. It seemed clear that if African Americans living in President
Lincoln's hometown could be attacked, then such violence could happen
anywhere in the Unites States.
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A group of brave individuals responded to these events by
establishing the NAACP 100 years ago today, turning tragedy into hope
for a better future. The founders of the NAACP issued a call to the
Nation on President Lincoln's birthday in 1909, urging their fellow
Americans to take stock of the progress since the Emancipation
Proclamation and to measure how well the country had lived up to its
obligation to ensure that each and every citizen was afforded equal
opportunity and protection.
Less than 50 years after the end of the Civil War, the founders of
the NAACP concluded that President Lincoln would be tremendously
disappointed by the situation in 1909: the disenfranchisement of
African Americans in several States between 1890 and 1908, the failure
of the Supreme Court to strike down these disenfranchisement
provisions, the segregation in trains and other public places, and
attacks on African Americans, even in his hometown of Springfield, IL.
In 1909, Springfield held a banquet to celebrate President Lincoln's
centennial. Booker T. Washington was invited to speak at this banquet,
but declined to come to the city where race riots had taken place only
6 months before. Not a single African-American resident of Springfield
was invited to this banquet. Black residents of Springfield held their
own commemoration at the nearby African Methodist Episcopal Church,
where the Reverend L. H. Magee expressed his disappointment at the
exclusion of African Americans from the official commemoration of the
Lincoln Centennial and predicted that by the bicentennial in 2009
Americans would have banished prejudice.
Over the last 100 years, the NAACP has been at the forefront of the
struggle for equality. The NAACP led the fight to desegregate public
schools, culminating in the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of
Education decision, and played a central role in the passage of the
1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Thanks to the
hard work of the NAACP and many others, we have taken tremendous steps
since the tragic events that led to its creation.
Tonight, at Springfield's bicentennial banquet in honor of President
Lincoln, the minister of the African Methodist Episcopal Church will
deliver the benediction and President Barack Obama will be the keynote
speaker. President Obama's election and so much else that we treasure
about America today is possible in part because of the vision and
leadership of Abraham Lincoln and shows that there is still within us a
passionate longing to be the America that President Lincoln believed we
could and must become.
A hundred years later, I believe the founders of the NAACP might
conclude that President Lincoln would be proud about many things in our
country. But I think they would also remind us that there is still much
to be done in the struggle for equality for all persons. I am reassured
in knowing that the NACCP will continue to lead the fight to ensure
political, educational, social and economic equality for all persons.
Mr. WEBB. Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate the 100th
anniversary of the founding of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People, NAACP, one of our Nation's oldest and
most influential civil rights organizations.
Founded on February 12, 1909, the NAACP's original and primary goal
was to secure for African Americans the rights that our Constitution
guarantees under the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. The NAACP played a
leading role in the civil rights movement in the mid-20th century,
stirring the conscience of our nation against segregation and
institutionalized racism. Today, the NAACP continues its work to
eliminate racial prejudice, and the organization has expanded its
endeavors to ensure equal access to political, educational, social and
economic advancement for all Americans.
Throughout its 100-year history, the NAACP has effected change at all
levels of society and politics, working tirelessly through organizing,
advocacy, and judicial action. From a small group of determined
citizens in the early 1900s to an organization with over a half-million
members and supporters today, the NAACP has established itself
throughout America and the world as a leading champion for civil and
human rights.
I am proud to be a lifetime member of the NAACP. I share its desire
to ensure economic fairness and social justice in this country, and I
am pleased to congratulate the NAACP on the occasion of its 100th
anniversary.
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