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[[Left photograph: preacher in robes outside a church]]
[[Center photograph: priest in robes outside a church]]
[[Right photograph: Several people talking outside a church]]

[[Center article]]
Racism Was the Enemy
Roy Wilkins made history, and made America a more just and decent place, for whites as well as blacks. 
In his 46 years with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, he held steadfastly to a belief in the power of reason and the rule of law rather than force. Racism was the enemy, whether by intolerant whites or impatient blacks.
Though he saw the value of peaceful picketing, he preferred the path of litigation and legislation, fearing that victories resulting from confrontation would prove transitory. He assessed his extraordinary achievements with a modest comment: "We did what we could do when we could do it." It was a shrewd formula for success.
Through he years that the N.A.A.C.P. grew from 25,000 members to a national organization of half a million, Roy Wilkins combined unwavering commitment to principle with careful pragmatism. When he joined the organization in the 1930's, night riders commonly terrorized blacks. An aggressive N.A.A.C.P. campaign led to state anti-lynching legislation; it was the first of many legislative victories that would eventually mark the organization as the secretariat and chief lobbyist for the civil rights movement.
It was Roy Wilkin's painstakingly orchestrated legal strategy that ultimately persuaded the Supreme Court in 1954 to outlaw school segregation. And he was a leader in the civil rights coalition that cajoled and pressed and persevered until Congress finally banned discrimination in the great civil rights enactments of the 1960's.
He hardly had time to savor those triumphs, however, before being challenged by disgruntled black activists who disavowed nonviolence and called for black power.
Roy Wilkins understood how cheap - and chic - militant talk could be. Eloquently, he denounce black separatism. Even if black power should be enshrined briefly, he warned, "the human spirit, which knows no color or geography or time, would die a little, leaving for wiser and stronger and more compassionate men the painful beating back to the upper trail."
Racism was blatant and legal when he began his career. It is neither of these now, thanks in large part to his leadership. What a monument to one man.
The New York Times 9/9/81
[[/Center article]]

[[Column 1]]
The Roy Wilkins Memorial Fund
Roy Wilkins dedicated his life to the struggle for equality. The vehicle through which he worked was the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. From 1931 until his retirement in 1977 he served the Association in increasingly responsible roles.
During that period, the NAACP grew from just 25,000 members to almost 500,000 n more than 1,800 branches and 600 youth units. All took part in the mission of eliminating racial discrimination from every aspect of American life.
During Roy Wilkins' leadership, lynching by night riders was eradicated; segregation in trains and buses, hotels an motels, lunch-counters and restaurants was outlawed. The franchise was extended to most Black Americans. Fair housing and fair employment legislation became the law of the land.
Despite these monumental advances, much is still to be done. The Ku Klux Klan is growing in size and oldness; recently there have been a series of murders of Blacks by racists. In spite of fair hiring laws, there is still discrimination both in hiring and upgrading. Unemployment for Black youth is over 50%. Decent housing is limited by high interest rates, by restrictive zoning and by racial redlining. A high proportion of minority children receive poor education, often in segregated schools.
So much has been done and so much is yet to do. The Roy Wilkins Memorial Fund has been established to provide ongoing support for the positive, constructive programs of the NAACP.
The Memorial Fund will:
1. Support current programs including the Roy Wilkins Scholarships which are awarded to youngsters who have shown community service;

[[/Column 1]]
[[Column 2]]

2. Provide a reserve fun so that important programs will begin when they are most needed, not when or whether funds are raised for them;
3. Assist and stimulate projects to open up opportunities for Black children; and
4. Develop a suitable Roy Wilkins Memorial headquarters.

[[line]]
"We do not cry out bitterly that we love another land better than our own or another people better than our own. This is our land. This is our nation. We helped to build it. We have defended it from Boston Common to Iwo Jima."
Roy Wilkins
[[line]]
"We condemn the propaganda that Negro citizens must 'earn' their rights through good behavior. Good behavior wins the respect of our fellow citizens, which we value and seek, but no American is required to 'earn' his rights as a citizen. His human rights come from God and his citizenship rights come from the Constitution."
Roy Wilkins
[[line]]
All contributions are deductible for income tax purposes.
NAACP Special Contribution Fund
1790 Broadway, New York, N.Y. 10019

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