THE BIG FIVE in CIVIL RIGHTS the Controversy Over "Black Power" Has Toctl.8Ed Attention on the Various Civil Rigms Groups
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THE NEW YORK TIMES, JULY 24 , 1 966 THE BIG FIVE IN CIVIL RIGHTS The controversy over "Black Power" has toctl.8ed attention on the various civil rigMs groups. The f ollowing are brief sketches of t he major organizations: By l\1. S. HANDLER THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCE . MENT OF COLORED PEOPLE (N A.A.C.P.): The oldest, most important and only mass membersh~o civil rights organi zation the biracial N.A.A.C.P.'s goal is to nnegratc the Ameri can N ~gro into all areas _of Am-:r <a_n !if'!. It il;;s been larg_t!iy responsii.Jie for such major lr. g•.sbtl ~• e a.dvr..nces as th ~ CJ_vJI Rights Act of 1964 and it has been tn the front r_an~ ft~htlng constitutional issues. But the N.A.A.C.P. has not ltmttea 1tself. as rivals and critics sometimes claim, only to legislative and judicial action. It was the first org<~mzation to use the picket line and has been involved in many demonstrations. Today it has a paid membership of nearly 450,000. Its income in 1965 was nearly 1.9-million. Its executive director, Roy Wilkins, is considered the most astute figure, politically, in civil r ights. To Mr. Wilkins, Black Power means black racism and "black death." .THE NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE: A biracial service organization with five regional offices and 76 local affiliates, it is not a membership group. Operating with a paid staff of 800 and with 8,000 volunteers manning local boards and com mittees, its policy is to lead the Negro into the American mainstream through a variety of job training programs and housing, welfare and education projects. The Urban League is heavily backed by foundations, industry, labor, social groups, Negro fraternal organizations, the U.S. Departments of Labor, the Office of Economic Opportunity and local United Funds and Community Chests. Its general budget income in fiscal 1966, ending June 30, was 1.4-million. The executive director, Whitney M. Young Jr., is rated a superb organizer and planner who can speak the language of big business and government and win their support. He believes Black Power is self-de fe ating and dangerous. THE CONGRESS OF RACIAL EQUALITY (CORE) : A biracial community action organization, it believes in creating social tensions through demonstrations and marches as an indispensable ingredient in winning actual as well <\S legal equality. Officials claim membership of 80,000-a figure others treat with scepticism-in 200 chapters, and admit there has been a drop of 20,000 in membership reccr.tiy, possibly as a result of growing Black Power philosophy. Last year, CORE raised about $860,000 from membership fees and don<ltions, but in the first quarter of the current fi<>cal year its income dropped to an annual rate of about $400.00(1 and its indebted n ess rose to $200,000 to $300,000. Floyd McKissick, national director, tends to indulge in sweeping attacks. He is today one of the principal advocates of Black Power. SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFER ENCE (S.C.L.C.): Dr. Martin Luther King· Jr.'s loosely-organ ized group based in Atlanta was originally created for action in the South but it has now entered the North with a campaign in Chicago. An S.C.L.C. convention is really a meeting of Southern Negro Baptist min.isters, and the organizatit)n i:; largely a one-man group. Its policy is integration P.n<i full equality, and Dr. K10g uses mJss demonstrations. marches and the like. An exponent of nonviolence, he condemns Black Power but does not go as far as some who brand it black racism. Dr. King is generally rec. og ni.~ .::d as the greatest orator of the civil rights movement. Unti l lact y~ar, S.C.L.C. was hard-pressed for money. But funds now seem to oe rolling in from admirers at home and abroad. THE STUDENT NONVIOLENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE (S.N.C.C.): Based in Atlanta, with a nebulous staff estimated between ISO and 200, it is not a membership organization. S.N.C.C. has a revolving door with kids going in and out depending upon the prevailing mvod and state of tension. It is a Southern action group. S.N.C.C. operates with very little money and its workers live in the shacks of Nf'gro communities. S.N.C.C. organizes and sparks demonstrations and marches that sometimes develop into major e;rents when police attacks compel other civil rights groups to join in. Supposedly biracial, S.N.C.C., since Stokely Carmichael replaccJ John Lewis at the top, has been trying to shake out the white kids. I t is now practically an all-black organization and Mr. Car michael has become the high priest of Black Power. ©by The New York Times Company. Re printed by permission. NA T IONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE 20 West 40th Street New York, New York 10018 ~:~.. 448 .