[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.

[[Page S2210]]

  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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