International Politics And The Civil Rights Struggle Of National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People,1939-1954

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is one of the most influential civil rights organizations in America.It was founded in 1909,since then it has struggled for the equality and civil rights of American colored people.Meanwhile,it also paid much attention on the destiny of global colored humankind.The main approaches of its struggles for civil rights included political lobbying,lawsuits,forcing the civil rights bill.After the World War II,NAACP's strength was enhanced,and the number of its members increased hugely up to more than 500000.During the early cold war era,the NAACP's horizon widened and its leaders laid the domestic issue into the new world politics,and linked the domestic issue with the colored humankinds'liberation struggle.There were two fundamental issues that faced with NAACP,namely,how to fight for African American's equality and civil rights and how to handle the connection between civil rights struggle and the destiny of global colored races.This dissertation analyzed NAACP's civil rights movement from World War II to early cold war era,which was among 1939 and 1954.It made a thorough research on how NAACP utilized the favorable factors of international politics to improve the American racial record,promote its civil rights agenda and make announcements for colonial issues.This dissertation concluded 5 chapters and one conclusion part.The first chapter discussed how racial issues became international with the transformation of international politics configuration.During World War II and early cold war era,racial tensions soared and African American community and NAACP realized that American racial issue was part of the problem of global white primacy.Furthermore,they also acknowledged that the democratic practices of United States would do harm to its foreign image and national prestige.With the patience of international society,the huge gap between democratic tenets and was exposed.It was utilized by German and Japanese fascists during the war and then Soviet Union during the cold war.However,the federal government,senators and Supreme Court judges all approved that since the threat of communism and the cold war,racial issue had become blot on American democracy.And to win the cold war,the United States had to unite all forces,including the minorities and the new independent countries.Which meant that made progress on racial record was the best choice.The second chapter discussed the anti-lynching struggle for NAACP and its outcome.Since its founding,NAACP tool anti-lynching as its fundamental task.After the end of World War II,the number of lynching crimes aimed at African American veterans suddenly surged,which resulted in the attention of American public and international society,NAACP employed the pressure made by domestic and foreign public opinion to urge federal government to participate in investigation and pass the anti-lynching law.NAACP claimed that the increase of lynching crimes would weaken the moral leadership of United States and make the democratic promise into empty words.Under the international and domestic pressure,President Truman established the President's Committee on Civil Rights and denounced mob violence in many cases.Though no federal anti-lynching bill had been passed,the federal government recognized the cold war pressure.Truman's open denial of mob violence affected American civilian's opinion on lynching.Finally,lynching disappeared during the middle of 20^thcentury.The third chapter discussed how NAACP struggled for justice and equality for African Americans in United Nations'arena and how it struggled to include the international human rights clause into the united nations'charter.After the end of the World War II,NAACP participated into the building of international organization since it wanted to make voice for both African Americans and colonial people without representative rights anxiously.White and Du Bois attended the San Francisco Conference as consultants for American delegation,during when they urged American delegation put the fundamental human rights clause and colonial trusteeship clause into the charter.Though it was disappointed on the final charter,NAACP still held strong belief in the newly found United Nations.NAACP decided to expose the discrimination and exploitation that African Americans encountered by making petition to the United Nations.It believed that the petition would make out huge international influence which would compel the United States take more positive steps on civil rights issues and would lead the international society paying attention to the oppressed colonial people.After the United Nations accepted its petition,NAACP secured the assistance of the Soviet Union and embarrassed the American federal government.Although the petition was not discussed by the assembly,the exposure of the American democratic shortcomings helped the promotion of international human rights and made the American government strengthened the importance of civil rights issue.The fourth chapter analyzed how segregation in Washington D.C was swept.As the�democratic window�of United States,Jim Crow showed the blot of American democracy and would bring foreigners'doubt on it.With the assistance of NAACP,National Committee on Segregation in the Nation's Capital made a thorough research on the segregation of Washington.According to its research,Washington's African Americans had enjoyed some kind of equality for once.While after the turn of 20^thcentury,they got into total segregation.With the help of NAACP,National Committee on Segregation in the Nation's Capital made a significant finding,namely the 1872and 1873 anti-discrimination bill of Washington D.C were not out of date.Mary Church Terrell,an African American women leader issued a lawsuit on the segregation in Washington restaurants and made huge success.Washington African Americans also won the racial restrictive covenant suit and segregation in public school suit.The final chapter studied NAACP's lawsuits about segregation in public education.Since 1930s,NAACP had made a blue plan to abolish the�separate but equal�rule made by Plessey decision.The challenge began from the segregation of graduate study and professional study in southern states.After NAACP won the lawsuits of segregation in graduate school,it took over the challenge of segregations in public primary schools and secondary schools.While the era of Brown saw the expanding of cold war and the prosperity of Mc Carthyism,personal rights were under severe restriction.However,NAACP took the challenge of equal protection of citizens under the huge restriction.NAACP made clear that segregation in public schools would do harm to attract newly founded colored countries to attend freedom bloc,which would damage American's cold war interest.Although NAACP's lawyers made use of social science proof in the Supreme Court,the most powerful evidence was that racial discrimination attacked cold war interest of the United States.To sum up,from World War II to the early cold war era,NAACP had made use of the advantageous factors of global politics to struggle in judicial action,anti-lynching,desegregation.Although NAACP's attempts were restricted by anti-communism hysteria and its relationship with radicals,the changing global politc issue did make positive impacts on the promotion of civil rights agenda.