11
Nov
Who founded the NAACP?
CofCC.org News Team
Photo Right: Jacob Schiff was a wealthy banker. He served as an early board member and financier of the NAACP. Schiff also helped finance the Bolshevik Revolution.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded on February 12, 1909 in New York City. The NAACP website lists the founders as W.E.B. DuBois, Ida Wells-Barnett, Henry Moscowitz, Oswald Garrison Villiard, Mary White Ovington, and William English Walling.
W.E.B DuBois - A black man who was an avowed Communist and praised Joseph Stalin. He later moved to Ghana, where he died. DuBois was the only black on the original NAACP Board of Directors!
Ida Wells-Barnet - A black woman born during the Civil War. She was a celebrity activist among left-wing whites, especially Quakers.
Henry Moscowitz - A Jewish Physician in New York City. Also involved in organized labor and the entertainment industry. Moscowitz organized Socialist rallies in New York City.
Mary White Ovington - A white woman from New York City. Member of the Socialist Party of America.
William English Walling - A Jewish lawyer. Born into great wealth. Member of the Socialist Party of America.
Oswald Garrison Villard - A white man of primarily German decent. Grandson of a famous abolitionist. Born into great wealth, as the son of a railroad magnate. Owned two major newspapers in New York City. During the founding of the NAACP, Villard was on the left on social issues and supported the NAACP with free ads in his newspapers. Villard appears to have been used for his newspapers and connections, not so much his political beliefs. Villard was however, very anti-Socialist. He was from the liberal wing of the Republican party, while the others were from the liberal wing of the Northern Democrats.
When WWI started, Villard began to writing pro-German articles and opposed US entry into both WWI and WWII. In the 194057;s he join the America First Committee and supported men like Sen. Robert Taft, considered 60;old-right61; today.
Villard57;s involvement with founding the NAACP seems to be the work of a spoiled rich kid playing politics.
None of the first four presidents of the NAACP were black!
Moorfield Story (1910-1915)
Joel Springarn (1915-1940)
Arthur Springarn (1940-1966) (Joel57;s brother)
Kivie Kaplan (1966 -1975)
Other major figures.
Jacob Schiff was a Jewish immigrant from Germany and chairman of Kuhn & Loeb bank. Not only did he help finance the NAACP in it57;s infancy. In 1917 he bragged to the New York Times that he financed the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia as well. He served as an early board member of the NAACP as well.
Rabbi Stephen Wise. An early board member of the NAACP, and national secretary for the American Zionist Congress.
From NationMaster.com
The conference resulted in a more viable, influential and diverse organization, where the leadership was predominantly white and heavily Jewish. In fact, at its founding, the NAACP had only one African American on its executive board, DuBois himself, and did not elect a black president until 1975. The Jewish community contributed greatly to the NAACP57;s founding and continued financing. Jewish historian Howard Sachar writes in his book A History of Jews in America of how, 60;In 1914, Professor Emeritus Joel Spingarn of Columbia University became chairman of the NAACP and recruited for its board such Jewish leaders as Jacob Schiff, Jacob Billikopf, and Rabbi Stephen Wise.61; [1] Early Jewish co-founders included Julius Rosenthal, Lillian Wald, Rabbi Emil G. Hirsch and Wise.