NAACP Milestones
Celebrating the NAACP at 100: See 10 Major Milestones
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1909 - On Feb. 12, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded by a multiracial group of activists, including scholar W.E. B. Du Bois, who answered "The Call," in New York, NY. They initially called themselves the National Negro Committee.
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1913 - In April, Dr. Joel E. Spingarn instituted the Spingarn Medal, a gold medal that was to be awarded annually to a person who made significant contributions in supporting NAACP ideals.
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1939 - On April 9, after the Daughters of the American Revolution barred Marian Anderson from performing at their Constitutional Hall in Washington, D.C., the NAACP successfully moved to have her appear at the Lincoln Memorial that Easter Sunday where more than 75,000 people attended the open air concert broadcast nationally by radio.
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1942 - The Association worked with studio executives and politicians to establish an ad hoc committee with the major film studios to monitor the image and portrayal of African Americans on the silver screen. That has become an ongoing cause of the NAACP.
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1960 - Sen. John F. Kennedy addressed an audience of 7,000 at the NAACP Civil Rights Rally at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Calif., just four days before he secured the Democratic Presidential Nomination.
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