Honoring and Praising the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on the Occasion of Its 97th Anniversary
HONORING AND PRAISING THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE ON THE OCCASION OF ITS 97TH ANNIVERSARY -- (House of Representatives - March 01, 2006)
Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 335 and to thank my colleague, Mr. Green, for introducing this resolution. It is important for all of us to honor the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on the occasion of its 97th anniversary for the many achievements that highlight their long and distinguished history.
As a native of Baltimore and a lifetime member of the NAACP, this resolution holds special importance for me. The NAACP has been headquartered in Baltimore since 1986, continuing a long tradition of civil rights prominence for the city. Thurgood Marshall, also a son of Baltimore, was one of the NAACP's premier advocates and later our nation's first African American Justice.
Founded in February 1909 by members of the Niagara Movement, the NAACP has been a catalyst for America's evolution. Its founding members included Ida Wells-Barnett, Henry Moscowitz, and William Edward Burghardt DuBois. Their heroic efforts formed the foundation that helped spark the Civil Rights Movement. They and future generations confronted daily the evils of Jim Crow, and challenged more subtle but equally pernicious forms of racial discrimination. The NAACP has led efforts to construct a society based on equality, respect, and understanding between all citizens. Its legislative accomplishments are legendary--the 1957 Civil Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act of 1960 and 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the 1968 Fair Housing Rights Act among them.
Over the years, the list of NAACP pioneers has included Walter White, Charles Hamilton Houston, Rosa Parks, Medgar Evers, Elaine Jones, and many thousands of other brave freedom fighters. The NAACP challenged school segregation in Brown v. Board of Education, and residential segregation in Buchanan v. Warley. It fought segregation in government institutions, resulting in its eventual repeal. It defeated Supreme Court nominations of those who would deny equal rights. It mobilized voters in the South at a time when the very lives of their volunteers were threatened. And it continues to shine a beacon of light for equal justice.
But the NAACP represents so much more than these landmark laws and court decisions; it represents a voice for change, a clarion call to end the vicious and destructive stereotypes that too often still divide rather than unite our country; and a vehicle for raising of the collective consciousness of America.
Current President and CEO Bruce Gordon leads a strong and vibrant association of more than half a million members, with seven regional offices and hundreds of local branches, united in purpose.
For nearly a century, the NAACP has set the standard for effecting meaningful social change. I am proud to congratulate the NAACP on this 97th anniversary, I look forward to its centennial, and I urge my colleagues to unanimously support this resolution.
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