The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights

Civil rights

Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...

 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 eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination". Its name, retained in accordance with tradition,
uses the once common term colored people

Colored

Colored is a term once widely used in the United States to describe black people and Native Americans...

.

The NAACP bestows the annual Image Awards

NAACP Image Award

An NAACP Image Award is an accolade presented by the American National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to honor outstanding people of color in film, television, music, and literature....

 for achievement in the arts and entertainment, and the annual Spingarn Medal

Spingarn Medal

The Spingarn Medal is awarded annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for outstanding achievement by an African American....

s for outstanding positive achievement of any kind, on deserving African Americans.