FBI File on the NAACP

Microform Collection

Location: Microfilm E 185.5 .F35

Scope: These files on the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) cover the years 1941 to 1957, and reflect bureau investigations into the NAACP’s supposed connections with the Communist party.
"Founded in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) became the leading organization advocating equal rights for minorities, a status it still claims. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) file on the NAACP, officially entitled 'Communist Infiltration of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People,' spans the years from 1941-1975, a period in which many significant events of the civil rights movement took place." From the Introduction of the print guide to the collection

How to Search the Collection: The collection is contained on four rolls of microfilm and is accompanied by a print guide that includes "Roll Notes." The documents come from the Washington files of the FBI and have been released under the Freedom of Information Act. The documents were filmed in the order they were received from the FBI and are in approximate chronological order (though the FBI did not index documents). The Roll Notes, while not a complete inventory of the collection, may be informative to the researcher using this file.

excerpt from Roll Notes:

                        Section 2                                            Roll 1, 0066-0132
                        October 1941-April 1942
                        List of National Officers
                        Copy of constitution and by-laws
                        Report on Executive Secretary Walter White
                        "Scotssboro," by Clarence Darrow (from the Crisis)
                        "The Negro and the Communists," by Walter White
                            (from the Messenger)

Guides:
Guide to the Microfilm Edition of the FBI File on the National Association of Colored People. Wilmington, Del. : Scholarly Resources, 1990. (Microfilm E 185.5 .F35 1990 Guide)

Subject Categories: To find more information on this topic in our library, search under these subject headings in the Library Catalog:

African Americans -- Civil rights -- History -- 20th century -- Sources.

Civil rights movements -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Sources

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People -- History

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People -- Archives

Time Period: 20th Century

Subject keywords: African American Studies, Civil Rights, FBI Documents

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