The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization founded in 1909 as an interracial effort to advance justice for African Americans. It was established by a group of activists including W.E.B. Du Bois, Mary White Ovington, Moorfield Storey, Ida B. Wells, Lillian Wald, Emil G. Hirsch, and Henry Moskowitz, in response to widespread racial violence and discrimination, such as the Springfield race riot of 1908. The NAACP's mission focuses on eliminating racial discrimination and ensuring equality through legal advocacy, education, and political action. It has been instrumental in major civil rights milestones, including the landmark Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which ended legal segregation in public schools, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Over its more than 110 years of history, the NAACP has grown into the largest and oldest civil rights organization in the United States, with branches across the country and a membership exceeding 500,000. Prominent leaders have included Thurgood Marshall, who argued Brown v. Board and later became the first African American U.S. Supreme Court Justice, and Roy Wilkins, who led the organization during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. The NAACP continues to address contemporary issues such as voting rights suppression, criminal justice reform, economic inequality, and police brutality, often through litigation, lobbying, and public campaigns. It maintains institutional affiliations and historical family ties with civil rights figures, such as through Lani Guinier's father. The organization has faced controversies, including internal debates over strategy during the Black Power era and criticisms for its focus on integration versus separatism, but it remains a cornerstone of the fight for racial justice. Its efforts have extended to international human rights, and it has received numerous accolades, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.