OUR HISTORY

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The NAACP Durham Branch is the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), a civil rights organization founded in 1909. The Durham NAACP was established in 1920, and it has played a significant role in the history of civil rights in Durham, North Carolina.

The NAACP Durham Branch was founded by a group of Black citizens who were concerned about the discrimination and violence that they faced. The early goals of the branch included promoting racial equality, advocating for voting rights, and improving educational and economic opportunities for Black Americans.

In 1951, the NAACP Durham Branch filed a lawsuit challenging the segregation of Durham's public schools. The case eventually made its way to the Supreme Court, which ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional.

In 1958, the NAACP Durham Branch launched a sit-in campaign to protest the segregation of lunch counters at local Woolworth's and Kress stores. The sit-ins were successful, and the stores eventually desegregated.

In 1960, the NAACP Durham Branch helped to organize the Durham Freedom Rides, a series of bus rides designed to challenge the segregation of interstate transportation facilities. The Freedom Rides were met with violence and intimidation, but they helped to raise awareness of the civil rights movement and led to the desegregation of interstate transportation.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the NAACP Durham Branch worked to improve the lives of Black Durham residents by providing social services and advocating for better housing and jobs. The chapter also worked to increase Black representation in government.