In Defense of Black Women: Black Women Advocacy and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 1945–1995

Abstract

In the period following World War II, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) served as the longest standing and most experienced organization serving African Americans. It was during this postwar period, from 1945 to 1995, that its membership boomed at the regional and local levels and the organization worked to ensure federal anti-discrimination policies benefited black Americans through their various branches. In this dissertation, which draws on research from the NAACP archives, I argue that from 1945 to 1995 the NAACP addressed the needs of black women by advocating for them in housing struggles, employment litigation, and the fight against police brutality. They key issues that emerged for black women were housing, defense against police brutality, and employment advocacy. I apply the theoretical framework of intersectionality to analyze how these three advocacy issues for the NAACP operated at the intersections of race, gender, and class in the lives of black women in the United States.