The Crisis, Vol. 1, No. 1: the N.A.A.C.P.

What it is

This is the opening issue of The Crisis, the magazine of the newly formed National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), published in 1910. It describes the organization's founding conferences and lists its officers and early members, including Ida B. Wells Barnett.

Why it matters

The document shows the early structure of the NAACP, naming figures such as Moorfield Storey, W. E. B. DuBois, and Jane Addams alongside Wells. It demonstrates how Wells was part of a wider network of activists building institutions to fight for civil rights in the early twentieth century.

Look closer

• Why might an organization choose to publish a list of its members and officers in its first issue?
• What does Wells's inclusion in this list tell you about her standing among other reformers of her time?
• What questions does this list leave unanswered about the roles different members actually played?