Evening star., 1922-04-22

UOn tOt tnc iAuNuucep1cht VI SOAOtcO
People.
The National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People will
inaugurate drive for members with
a mass meeting in the John W Wesley
A. NJ f. Zion Church tomorrow aft
ernoon at O'Clock. Included among
large list of speakers will be
Charles Edward Russell. Neville H.
Thomas, Mrs. Medill Mccormick. wife
of the Illinois senator. Mrs. Coralie
Cook. Senator David I. Walsh. of
Massachusetts; Rev. James Noble
Pierce and others.
Questions have been asked time and
again as to what the association Is.
when il was founded and what is
its present status.
The National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People was
virtually organized the first week of
William English Walling and DR..
Henry MoskowitZ, meeting in a New
York apartment. shortly after this
date. in corporation with DIR. W. h.
H. pu Bois at that time, head of the
Niagara movement. an organization of
celored people formed in 1868 and
dedicated to principles similar to
those of the new organization. call
for national conference 'on the race
question, to be held on Lincoln's s
birthday, 1909, was drafted by Oswald
Garrison Willard, president of the
New York Evening Post Company:
Many prominent men and women of
both races signed the request for a
meeting. which was held and which
made the present association an ac-
tuafity.
Second Conference Held.
In May, 1910. second conference
was held in New York and the COM
mittee went into a permanent organ
ization. from then on being known
under its present name. 1t now has
a membership of more than 100000.
scattered all over the United States,
Ganaa5 .o5 and sao rer,0 S1soebss Ks0 and RsF
Its national officers are Moorfield
Storey. former president of the Amer
lean Bar Association. who has been
president of the Association for Ad-
vsncement of Coiored People since
urer. author and professor at 'Coium-
bia University for several years;
James Weldon Johnson. executive Sec
retary, poet. lawyer. author and Dip
lomat; Miss Mary White Ovingtop.
chairman of the board of directors.
social worker and authoress. William
Pickens, field secretary, member OF
the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Yale
University, and Dr. William Edward
Burghardt Du Bois. editor and di
rector of publication Of the Crisis, the
official organ Of the association.
District of Columbia Branch.
The District of Colum bia branch of
the society is one of the largest in
the country. and it is expected that
the drive to be launched Sunday will
bring its total membership to 25 900.
The local officers are: President. !. II.
Grimke: secretary. \. s. Pinkett;
treasurer. Garnet 6. Wilkinson. as
siStant superintendent in charge of
colored schools: executive committee.
l.. Nj. Hershaw. chairman; Emma F..
G. Merritt Neval II. Thomas John S
Quander. Miss L. NJ. Lynch. Shelby j.
Davidson is the executive secretary
of the branch.
Recent activities of the association
both here and throughout the country
have included work for the passage
of the Dyer anti-lyuching bill Rep
President Harding signs the bill he
will request that the pen be given to
a representative of the organization
which has done most to put this bill
through-the National Association
for the Advancement af Golored Peo-
ple." ~
The furnishing of investigators.
lawyers and publicity in the out
break of race riots; reporting of peon-
age cases and election atrocities in
Florida -to the Department of Justice:
testimony before the census commit
tee of the House regarding "disfran-
chisement of negroes" in the south
investigated the Tulsa, Okla. riot and
in many other cases of importance
also have formed part of the assocfa-
tipn program