National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Portland Branch (Portland, Or.)
Biography
The national NAACP formed in 1909, and in 1914, a local chapter formed in Portland. Dr. J.N. Merriman was the first president, and the chapter’s first secretary was Beatrice Morrow Cannady, the editor of an African American newspaper, the Advocate. One of the chapter’s earliest goals was to remove the exclusion laws from the state constitution. After numerous failed campaigns spanning thirty years, Oregon voters finally repealed the exclusion laws in 1926 and 1927. The Portland NAACP also worked for civil rights legislation in Oregon, fought to get African Americans into labor unions, and opposed discriminatory city housing policies.
Found in 3 Collections and/or Records:
Lorna Marple photographic collection
Small collection of black and white photographs relating to the Portland, Oregon, branch of the NAACP. Identified individuals include Mayfield Webb, Juretta Webb, Otto Rutherford, Charlotte Rutherford, Marie Smith, Lorna Marple, Sylvia Thompson, Mary Kay Rowland, Bill McClendon, Ulysses Plummer, and Arie Randall.
NAACP of Portland, Oregon records
Thomas R. Vickers NAACP papers
Papers, newspaper issues and clippings, photographs, and scrapbooks concerning the Portland, Oregon branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Thomas R. Vickers, who served as the branch president from 1967-1971.