FBI File on the NAACP
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)
For more information about this subject in our Library Catalog, check out these
Subject Categories:
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: FBI Documents, African American Studies, Civil Rights