Arthur B. Spingarn
Encyclopedia
Arthur Barnette Spingarn (1878–1971) was an American leader in fight for civil rights for African Americans.
Spingarn was born into a well-to-do family. He graduated from Columbia College in 1897 and from law school in 1899. He was one of a small group of white Americans who decided in the first decade of the 20th century to support the radical demands for racial justice being voiced by W. E. B. Du Bois in contrast to the more ameliorative views of Booker T. Washington
. He served as head of the legal committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) and one of its vice-presidents starting in 1911.
He interrupted his legal career to serve for several years as an Army
captain in the Sanitary Corps during World War I
and protested the discriminatory treatment of African Americans in the U.S. military
. He succeeded his brother Joel Elias Spingarn
as president of the NAACP in 1940 when the legal arm of the organization was spun off into the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
. He served as the NAACP's president until 1965.
Spingarn was an avid collector and amassed a collection of materials –books, newspapers, manuscripts, and realia –related to the African American experience worldwide, a collection "unique in its depth, breadth, and quality," which he sold to Howard University
, where it was incorporated into the re-named Moorland-Spingarn Research Center
, the largest and most valuable research library in America for the study of Negro life and history.
The rest of his collections were sold at auction in 1966.
He died at home in New York City on Dec. 1, 1971. At his memorial service, he was eulogized by Associate Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
and Roy Wilkins
, executive director of the NAACP. Buell C. Gallagher, retired president of the City College of New York
, called him "the rallying center of the aggressive forward movement" of the NAACP.
Spingarn was born into a well-to-do family. He graduated from Columbia College in 1897 and from law school in 1899. He was one of a small group of white Americans who decided in the first decade of the 20th century to support the radical demands for racial justice being voiced by W. E. B. Du Bois in contrast to the more ameliorative views of Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
. He served as head of the legal committee of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
(NAACP) and one of its vice-presidents starting in 1911.
He interrupted his legal career to serve for several years as an Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
captain in the Sanitary Corps during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and protested the discriminatory treatment of African Americans in the U.S. military
Military of the United States
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
. He succeeded his brother Joel Elias Spingarn
Joel Elias Spingarn
Joel Elias Spingarn was an American educator, literary critic, and civil rights activist.-Biography:Spingarn was born in New York City to a well-to-do family. He graduated from Columbia College in 1895...
as president of the NAACP in 1940 when the legal arm of the organization was spun off into the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is a leading United States civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City....
. He served as the NAACP's president until 1965.
Spingarn was an avid collector and amassed a collection of materials –books, newspapers, manuscripts, and realia –related to the African American experience worldwide, a collection "unique in its depth, breadth, and quality," which he sold to Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
, where it was incorporated into the re-named Moorland-Spingarn Research Center
Moorland-Spingarn Research Center
The Moorland-Spingarn Research Center is recognized as one of the world's largest and most comprehensive repositories for the documentation of the history and culture of people of African descent in Africa, the Americas, and other parts of the world...
, the largest and most valuable research library in America for the study of Negro life and history.
The rest of his collections were sold at auction in 1966.
He died at home in New York City on Dec. 1, 1971. At his memorial service, he was eulogized by Associate Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
and Roy Wilkins
Roy Wilkins
Roy Wilkins was a prominent civil rights activist in the United States from the 1930s to the 1970s. Wilkins' most notable role was in his leadership of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ....
, executive director of the NAACP. Buell C. Gallagher, retired president of the City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
, called him "the rallying center of the aggressive forward movement" of the NAACP.
Works
- Laws Relating to Sex Morality in New York City (1915, revised 1926)
- Legal and Protective Measures (1950), co-authored with Jacob A. Goldberg
Sources
- New York Times: Farnsworth Fowle, "Arthur Spingarn of N.A.A.C.P. Is Dead", Dec. 2, 1971
- Francis H Thompson, Arthur Barnett Spingarn: Advocate for Black Rights (1987)
- Patrica Sullivan, Lift Every Voice: The NAACP and the Making of the Civil Rights Movement (2009)