The Miami times. [volume] (Miami, Fla.) 1923-current, 1956-04-21
BetWeen The Lines /.
A ROSE BY ANOTHER NAME

SoAuilu has DeeQ deDaLng the
wisdom Of suggesting another
name for the. NAACP. Notwith-
standing that the name NAACP is
a synonym for all that is noblest
and finest in one of the most
magnificent fights for full Ameri-
can citizenship, it does not cover
the entire gamut of its useful
ness as a liberation agency. 1t con-
notes struggle for full citizen
ship rights and res consibilities
for Negroes, and this is as it
should be. But the scope of the
organizations program and prac-
tees far exceed those of the Ne
gro race. In its inception it bore
directly on the rights and reSpon-
sibilitieS of Negroes and became
an instrument of their achieve
ment; but these rights ad respon-
sibilitieS were so closely inter-
woven with other races and
groups that it has come about
that the struggle for Negro rights
is struggle for the rights of all
mankind.
The achievements of the NAACP
have been achievements for all
mankind and its fights has To-
cuSed the civil rights fight on all
diSadvantaged groups in the
world. In Africa and Asia and in
the uttermost parts of the earth
the NAACP fight is being dupli-
Gated and with salutary. results.
The spirit of the NAACP is the
spirit of the times and it no
longer represents just a fight for
Negro liberation. The principles
involved became the witchword
for all oppressed peoples. The vic
tories won became victories for
mankind and the defeats it SUI
stains be come the defeat for the
cause of liberation everywhere
In other words, the N A A c P
fight has become so closely allied
with, and identified with, the
world liberation movement that it
is useless to try to differentiate
detectives. A fact that needs en-
phaSizing is, the NAACP is no
longer an Association for the Ad-
vancement of Colored People but
it is in fact an Association for the
Advancement of all peoples
NAAP instead of NAACP would
be more correct.
Oppressed peoples everywhere
stand to profit by the success of
the fight the NAACP is so vail
antly carrying on. Even the most
rabid Negrophobes of the Old
South have profited and are cur
rently profiting by the valiant eff
forts of the NAACP. One of the
current boasts of the Old South
in its plea to be left alone to
work out the problem, is the pro-
gress that has been made and is
currently being made in race re-
lations. The boast is often made
that the progress the Negro has
made is proof that further pro-
greSs is in the offing. And it
is vigorously alleged that if left
alone the South will make fur
Their progress in adjusting race
relations. Boast is often made of
the closing gap between the edu-
cational expenditures of White
and Negro schools. And more re-
Gently great boast is be'T~ 49,
of the fine school equipment that
is currently being offered Negroes
in the South.
Little is said of the fight that
NAACP has had to put up to get
the concessions of which the
South is now wont to boast. The
campuses of our Negro state coll
leges are just becoming gardens
of beauty; but it is not always
made clear that these fine build
ings and their fine equipment are
the results of the fight that the
NAACP made to invigorate the
"se cerate but equal" laws and
practices enunciated in former
generations. For generations the
seperate but equal doctrine re-
NAMED inert with the emphasis
placed only upon separate. But
the magnificent fiZht made by the
NAACP energized the legal con-
cept in ways that have brought
a great transformation in the
physical aspect of Negro education
in the South. But the Old South's