Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Spring 2020

Abstract

Enter the Progressive era a time of social activism and political reform, an era aimed at finding a cure for industrialization and urbanization nationally. There were also societal issues that needed to be resolved, issues of governmental corruption, government machines and their overseers, women’s suffrage, child labor laws, the practice of Eugenics, and safer food and medicine for all citizens. Although the reformers of the era were trying to create a “Great America,” the Progressive era encouraged discriminatory rules; rules which aided in the re-emergence of the KKK and lay the foundation for the Immigration Act of 1917. Policies that allowed strong segregation and racial persecution. There was an overwhelming need for a voice of equality, citizenship, and protection for African Americans. Organized in 1918, the San Antonio Branch of the NAACP has extensively been a spearhead of the fight for justice, and a forerunner in the call to activism. As I discuss the importance of the founding of the branch in San Antonio, I will also discuss the impact on the people it served, and the effects of a child born under its umbrella.

Download
COinS