How the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Began

In this vivid first‑hand account, the author chronicles the urgent birth of a movement that would become a cornerstone of civil‑rights advocacy. She begins with the shocking 1908 Springfield race riots, a flashpoint that spurred a journalist’s impassioned plea for a “large and powerful body of citizens” to defend African‑American rights. Responding to that call, she, along with a small group of reformers, convened in a modest New York apartment and laid the groundwork for a new organization dedicated to equality.

The narrative follows the early planning stages, highlighting the collaboration of activists, journalists, and social workers who shaped the group’s initial strategy. Their first decisive act was to invoke Abraham Lincoln’s birthday as a rallying moment, issuing a nationwide invitation to discuss the “Negro question.” Through these early meetings and the crafting of a bold public appeal, the book captures the spirit of determination that ignited the organization’s first steps toward lasting social change.