The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) was organized in February 1909. That’s right–this year we can look back on 100 years of hard work by this organization.
If you’d like to learn more, your University’s Library can help. A search of the Library Catalog would find titles such as Inheritors of the spirit: Mary White Ovington and the founding of the NAACP (3rd-floor Main Collection, E185.98.O95 W44 1998) and Before his time: the untold story of Harry T. Moore, America’s first civil rights martyr (3rd-floor Main Collection, E185.97.M79 G74 1999).
The NAACP’s web site has a history of the organization, also, of course.
Search the Library’s article databases such as Academic Search Premier (Ebscohost) to find articles such as “The History and Rhetoric of the NAACP: The Origins” (Black History Bulletin, vol. 71, no. 2, pp. 12-14).
Please ask a librarian if you would like assistance in finding materials.
Standing Up to the Madness:
Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times
by Amy & David Goodman
JK1759 .G585 2008
New Book Island, 2nd floor
Back in March, I highlighted a new book on the topic of the violation of civil liberties and examples of people in their everyday lives experiencing these transgressions (view original post). In a coincidental follow-up to that post, this week’s New Stuff Tuesday puts the spotlight on people like you and me stepping up to the plate and challenging authority.
The Goodman siblings (Amy is host of Democracy Now! and David is an investigative journalist) detail the struggle of US citizens against the government. The individuals profiled are from across the country and have sought justice in the face of adversity. Stories include librarians (that’s right, LIBRARIANS!) that wouldn’t allow the FBI to violate patron privacy, the students involved in the Jena Six case, and the soldier that refused to be deployed to Iraq based on his claim that the US was engaged in an illegal and immoral war. All in all, it shows that people like you and me really can effect change.
Fat Rights:
Dilemmas of Difference and Personhood
by Anna Kirkland
KF4757.5 .O94 K57 2008
New Book Island, 2nd floor
Civil rights and the struggle for equality have come a long way over the last century. This week’s NST book features one group commonly left out of the discussion for equal rights, but that might be changing.
Kirkland, assistant professor at the University of Michigan, tackles the topic in a bold way, starting with the title (in the preface, she addresses her use of the term ‘fat’ as opposed to ‘overweight’ or ‘obese’ because of their medical and pejorative nature). The book examines whether or not – to use the author’s words – fatness should be added to the list of protected classes like race and gender. Because of this, the book not only looks at the current issue, but also the general case of antidiscrimination laws and movements over the years. The author explores how our society and legal system decide what differences constitute added protection under the law. It’s an eye-opening study which incorporates real-life examples accompanying the text.
