There were needs to confront critical Civil Rights issues of a Democratic society; issues that were granted by a Constitution of a country that said all people have equal rights in the eyes of God, “All Men Are Created Equal”; this country is the United States of America.

Yet, there were concerns that the Constitution wasn’t for all people.

In 1909, these concerns were recognized by an organization called the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); the oldest and most influential Civil Rights organization in the world, founded in New York City by a group of intellectual white and black men. NAACP focused on legal strategies designed to confront Civil Rights issues, and some of those issues still exist today.

In 1909, the NAACP also focused on barriers that violated human rights, anti-lynching laws, state sponsored segregation in public schools and declaring “separate but equal” to be unconstitutional.

NAACP retained a prominent role in successfully lobbying for legislation that resulted in the 1964 Civil Right Act, the 1965 Voting Act and other changes in the laws that prohibited equal rights.

In the fight for equal rights, and without racial hatred and discrimination, the organization leaders demonstrated their solidarity through peaceful marches; they launched programs in speech making, lobbying, publicizing issues and court actions.

The NAACP has remained active nationally and locally, both remains so through the main organization and its Legal Defense Fund.

In the struggle for equal rights, many Black people lost their lives in order for others to have rights ensured by God and the greatest document of all time, the Constitution of the United States of America.

Still today, the NAACP is the strongest advocate to confront issues involving civic engagement, environmental and climate justice, economic opportunity, education equalities, health rights, criminal justice, legal and media diversities.

The NAACP continues to strive to ensure political, educational, social and economic equality for all citizens; to achieve equality of rights and eliminate race prejudices among citizens of the United States and to remove all barriers of racial discrimination.

Fighting for justice is not an act of hate, but an act of love.

William H. McCargo is a retired teacher, owner of Duck Puddle Childcare, author and community activist. He can be reached at cropcorw@aol.com.