Detroit Branch NAACP
Branch History

In a time of police brutality, severe lynching, "colored" restrooms and water fountains, segregated housing, and employment discrimination, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was born. In 1909, several Black leaders from different organizations such as the "committee of 40" and the "Niagara Movement" came together to form what is now the oldest civil rights organization in the country, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

However, the constant repression and oppression of Black people all over the country proved to be too much for just the New York organization to handle. Thus, shortly thereafter, local branches were established. In 1912, Detroit received its charter to operate as a local Branch of the national civil rights organization. In the face of this racial hatred, some of the most distinguished Black leaders in Detroit banned together and established the Detroit Branch of the NAACP. They include Father Richard Bagnall, Rev. Robert L. Bradby, Sr., Benjamin Willoughby Lambert and William Osby.

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