[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 2297]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NAACP ON THE CELEBRATION OF ITS 90TH ANNIVERSARY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Lampson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to extend congratulations to 
the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 
sometimes known as the NAACP, as it celebrates its 90th anniversary on 
this Friday.
  The NAACP is the oldest, largest, and strongest civil rights 
organization in the United States. On February 12, 1909, on the 100th 
anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday, 60 prominent black and white 
citizens issued the call for a national conference in New York City to 
renew the struggle for civil and political liberty.
  Participants at the conference agreed to work toward the abolition of 
forced segregation, promotion of equal education and civil rights under 
the protection of law, and an end to race violence. In 1911 that 
organization was incorporated as the National Association for the 
Advancement of Colored People.
  Today the NAACP is a network of more than 2,200 branches covering all 
50 States, the District of Columbia, Japan, Germany, and its membership 
exceeds a half million people. Born in response to racial violence, the 
association's first major campaign was the effort to get the anti-
lynching laws on the books in the United States.
  In 1919, to awaken the national conscience, the NAACP published an 
exhaustive review of lynching records. NAACP leaders, at potential risk 
to their own lives, conducted firsthand investigations of racially 
motivated violence that were widely publicized. Though bills succeeded 
in passing through the House of Representatives several times, they 
were always defeated in the Senate. Nonetheless, NAACP efforts brought 
an end to the excesses of mob violence through public exposure and the 
public pressure it mobilized.
  The NAACP has always known how to respond to challenges, and is 
certainly no stranger to struggle. Through political pressure, marches, 
demonstrations, and effective lobbying, the NAACP has served as an 
effective voice, as well as a shield for minority Americans. From 
educational parity to voter registration, housing, and labor, the NAACP 
has been at the forefront of efforts aimed at securing civil rights and 
civil liberties. No longer do we see signs that read ``white'' and 
``colored.'' The voters' booth, the schoolhouse door, now swing open 
for everyone.
  It is important for us to all remember how effective the NAACP 
efforts have been. While much has been accomplished, much more needs to 
be done. Mr. Speaker, America still needs the NAACP.
  I invite my colleagues to join me in congratulating the national 
organization and all its local chapters as they celebrate their 90th 
anniversary on February 12. I wish them continued success as they 
continue to focus on the protection of civil rights and civil liberties 
of all Americans.

                          ____________________