[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 30 (Friday, February 13, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E272]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING THE NAACP ON ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 10, 2009

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the 100th 
Anniversary of the NAACP, which was founded on February 12th, 1909. For 
the past century, the NAACP has served as the driving force behind the 
American civil rights movement, as its founders, leaders and members 
risked everything to tear down the walls of ignorance and racism, 
demanding freedom, empowerment, opportunity and justice for all.
   With a membership of a half-million strong, the NAACP membership 
represents communities across the country. The organization was formed 
partly in reaction to the unconscionable practice of lynching and also 
in response to the 1908 race riot in Springfield, Illinois. Horrified 
at the violence aimed at African Americans, a small group of concerned 
citizens met to discuss and find ways to address racial injustice and 
the NAACP was formed. Founding members included Mary White Ovington, 
Oswald Garrison Villard, Dr. Henry Moscovitz, Jane Addams and Charles 
Darrow. The stated goals included securing the rights of all people as 
guaranteed in the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments of the United States 
Constitution.
   The NAACP was the principle legal advocate for numerous 
groundbreaking civil rights advancements, including the 1930 anti-
lynching bill, the Dyer Bill, which passed the U.S. House of 
Representatives but not the U.S. Senate. Shortly thereafter, the NAACP 
published a report entitled, ``Thirty Years of Lynching in the United 
States,'' which drastically decreased the incidence of lynching after 
its release. The impact of the NAACP's support of the civil rights 
movement is evidenced in numerous landmark court decisions, most 
notably, in Brown v. Board of Education, wherein the brilliant 
attorney, Thurgood Marshall, who later served as the NAACP's Chief 
Counsel and also as a United States Supreme Court Justice, argued his 
case against school segregation, and won.
   Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honor and recognition 
of the members, past and present, of the NAACP, as they celebrate 100 
years of service and sacrifice focused on protecting the rights of 
minority citizens, thereby raising our nation upon a platform where 
human rights and civil rights are protected for all.

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