Professional Affiliation

Visiting Lecturer in African American Studies, Harvard University

Wilson Center Project

"A Struggle Towards Freedom: A History of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People"

Project Summary

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is the most important civil rights organization of the twentieth century -- and the least studied. The NAACP's expansive development, since its founding in 1909, allowed it to accommodate a broad constituency and a wide range of tactics, positioning it to engage the vast demographic, economic, and political changes that reshaped American life in the middle decades of this century. Through a comparative study of the national initiatives and policies of the NAACP and the growth and development of NAACP branches in the South and throughout the rest of the nation, I will explore the diverse goals and strategies that created and sustained a "movement" for black freedom and racial equality. A work of this scope will offer a fresh analysis of the origins, process, and consequences of the Civil Rights Movement.