| NAACP
Youth and College Division
How It Started
During the
NAACP 1935 National Convention several young people challenged the
organization to provide young people with an opportunity and a vehicle to
address the civil rights issues facing the nation’s youth.
The NAACP
National Board of Directors passed a resolution, formally creating the
Youth and College Division in March of 1936.
Under the
guidance of Ms. Juanita E. Jackson, Special Assistant to the Secretary, a
National Youth Program was created for youth members of the NAACP. This
program provided national activities for youth that were supported by
monthly meetings discussing local needs of the community. The major
national youth activities were demonstrations against lynching and
seminars and group discussions on the inequalities in public education.
The new
plan called for the scraping of what was then known as the junior branch
with the old age limits of 14 – 21 years old for youth members. This was
replaced by junior youth councils, ages 12 – 15, youth councils, ages 16
– 25, including college chapters, and the creation of a youth program
similar to that of the adults.
At the
historical first youth meeting in Baltimore, June 29 – July 4, 1936, 217
youth delegates held a national conference simultaneously with adult
members. Delegates outlined a national program that addressed four major
areas: equal educational opportunities, equal economic opportunities,
civil liberties, and physical security against lynching.
This
spirit of solidarity among black youths was sparked by years of racial
discrimination, segregation, and mob violence. “Flesh and blood and the
breath of life must be added to the skeleton we have constructed,”
declared youth member, Edward A. Lawrence in an article in the September
1936 edition of The Crisis.
Under the
leadership of Herbert L. Wright, the youth program reached an all-time
high in civil rights action in 1961. In March that year, youth and college
units launched sit-ins in Jacksonville, MS, integrating 2 public places
and demanded jobs in all-white establishments. The NAACP records that
nearly 200,000 young people were registered in 1962.
The NAACP
Youth and College Division is currently comprised of over 500 Youth and
College Units, representing thousands of young people across the United
States dedicated to fighting for social justice advocacy.
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