Why was the NAACP formed?

The NAACP was formed in 1909 after a race riot in Springfield, Illinois, in 1908 led to the call for a conference on social equality. The NAACP was also formed in response to the practice of lynching, which was prevalent in the South at that time.

The conference in New York City to discuss racial justice and social equality was organized by a group of white liberals, some of whom were descendants of abolitionists. Seven African-Americans were also in attendance at the meeting, including W.E.B Du Bois, Ida B.Wells-Burnett and Mary Church Terrell. The mission laid out by this group of early founders was to secure African-Americans the rights laid out in the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments.