"SECTION 1: THE NAME OF THIS ORGANIZATION SHALL BE THE (NAME OF CITY OR COUNTY) BRANCH OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE…"

(NAACP). Constitution and By-Laws for Branches of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. New York: NAACP, 1940. Tall 12mo, staple-bound as issued, original printed cream paper wrappers; pp. 21. $850.

Rare 1940 edition of the constitution and by-laws affecting branches of the NAACP, often regarded as America's premier civil rights organization.

The NAACP was founded in 1909 in response to ongoing violence against Black Americans. Devoted to improving the educational, political, social, and economic opportunities, the NAACP quickly grew to become one of the most respected civil rights agencies in the United States. Today, it boasts more than 2200 branches and units. The first constitution of the NAACP was drafted in 1911 by Albert Pillsbury, a Boston attorney and prominent Massachusetts politician descended from a white abolitionist family. Pillsbury was deeply involved in civil rights, collaborating with Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois; resigning from the ABA when the organization rejected the membership of a Black attorney; and even earning an honorary LLD from Howard University. Over time, the mandate of the NAACP grew and the constitution was continually edited to account for organizational changes. This 1940 edition contains a staple-in errata reflecting amendments made in 1943, including the deletion of two categories of membership and a new requirement that each branch office divide its fundraising proceeds evenly between the branch and the national office.

Only slightest rubbing and minor splitting at spine. An exceptional copy.