III 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 289 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 25, 2008 

Received and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Honoring and praising the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People on the occasion of its 99th 

anniversary. 

Whereas the National Association for the Advancement of 

Colored People (NAACP), originally known as the National Negro Committee, was founded in New York City 

on February 12, 1909, the centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth, by a multiracial group of activists who answered ‘The Call’ for a national conference to discuss the 

civil and political rights of African-Americans; 


smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS
2 

HCON 289 RFS 

Whereas the National Association for the Advancement of 

Colored People was founded by a distinguished group of 

leaders in the struggle for civil and political liberty, including Ida Wells-Barnett, W.E.B. DuBois, Henry 

Moscowitz, Mary White Ovington, Oswald Garrison 

Villard, and William English Walling; 

Whereas the NAACP is the oldest and largest civil rights organization in the United States; 

Whereas the mission of the NAACP is to ensure the political, 

educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all 

persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination; 

Whereas the NAACP is committed to achieving its goals 

through nonviolence; 

Whereas the NAACP advances its mission through reliance 

upon the press, the petition, the ballot, and the courts, 

and has been persistent in the use of legal and moral persuasion, even in the face of overt and violent racial hostility; 

Whereas the NAACP has used political pressure, marches, 

demonstrations, and effective lobbying to serve as the 

voice, as well as the shield, for minority Americans; 

Whereas after years of fighting segregation in public schools, 

the NAACP, under the leadership of Special Counsel 

Thurgood Marshall, won one of its greatest legal victories 

in the Supreme Court’s 1954 decision in Brown v. Board 

of Education; 

Whereas in 1955, NAACP member Rosa Parks was arrested 

and fined for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated 

bus in Montgomery, Alabama—an act of courage that 


smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS
3 

HCON 289 RFS 

would serve as the catalyst for the largest grassroots civil 

rights movement in the history of the United States; 

Whereas the NAACP was prominent in lobbying for the passage of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, and 1964, 

the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the Fannie Lou Hamer, 

Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act 

Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006, and the 

Fair Housing Act, laws which ensured Government protection for legal victories achieved; 

Whereas in 2005, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People launched the Disaster Relief 

Fund to help survivors in Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, 

Florida, and Alabama to rebuild their lives; and 

Whereas in 2007, the NAACP was prominent in lobbying for 

the passage of H. Res. 826, ‘‘The Noose Intimidation 

Bill’’, which expresses ‘‘that the hanging of nooses is a 

horrible act when used for the purpose of intimidation 

and which under certain circumstances can be a criminal 

act that should be thoroughly investigated by Federal law 

enforcement authorities and that any criminal violations 

should be vigorously prosecuted’’: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That the Congress— 

3 (1) recognizes the 99th anniversary of the his4 toric founding of the National Association for the 

5 Advancement of Colored People; and 

6 (2) honors and praises the National Association 

7 for the Advancement of Colored People on the occa8 sion of its anniversary for its work to ensure the poVerDate Aug 31 2005 03:34 Feb 26, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HC289.RFS HC289

smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS
4 

HCON 289 RFS 

1 litical, educational, social, and economic equality of 

2 all persons. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 14, 

2008. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


smartinez on PRODPC61 with BILLS