2 - Individual Right and Collective Interests: The NAACP and the American Voting Rights Discourse

Summary

In March 1911 the third annual conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) passed a “Declaration of Principles and Purposes” that condemned the increasing racial discrimination in America and vowed to fight for the rights of black people. One of the key paragraphs read:

We insist that the colored citizen of the United States is entitled to every right, civil and political, that is accorded to his white neighbor. We hold as a self-evident political truth that no men who are deprived of the right to vote can protect themselves against oppression and injustice. They cannot influence legislation or have a voice in selecting the tribunals by which their rights are determined, and the first step toward the advancement of the colored race is the recognition and protection of their right to vote.

The NAACP declaration echoed the two principal reasons why disfranchised groups have sought the vote throughout American history: They want the ballot because it symbolizes equality and inclusion as “first-class citizens” and because it is seen as an instrument for self-protection and for advancing collective interests. The symbolic function of the ballot is said to confer primarily an individual psychological benefit, the affirmation of civic pride and belonging, whereas its instrumental value only materializes if groups of voters pursue common goals with sufficient electoral clout to ensure that governments will respond to their needs and demands. Both motifs have played an important role during the long struggle for voting rights for African Americans.