Arthur Barnette Spingarn (March 28, 1878 – December 1, 1971) was an American leader in the fight for

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

for

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

Early life

He was born into a well-to-do

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family. His older brother was the educator

Joel Elias Spingarn Joel Elias Spingarn (May 17, 1875 – July 26, 1939) was an American educator, literary critic, civil rights activist, military intelligence officer, and horticulturalist. Biography Spingarn was born in New York City to an upper middle-class ...

, and his nephew was

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...

Commissioner Stephen J. Spingarn. He graduated from Columbia College in 1897 and from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

in 1899.

Career

Spingarn was one of the few

White Americans White Americans (sometimes also called Caucasian Americans) are Americans who identify as white people. In a more official sense, the United States Census Bureau, which collects demographic data on Americans, defines "white" as " person hav ...

who decided in the

1900s File:1900s decademontage2.png, 335px, From left, clockwise: The Wright brothers achieve the Wright Flyer, first manned flight with a motorized airplane, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Kitty Hawk in 1903; A missionary points to the severed hand of ...

decade to support the radical demands for racial justice being voiced by

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relativel ...

, in contrast to the gradualist views of

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite#United S ...

. He served as head of the legal committee of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

(NAACP) and was one of its vice presidents from 1911. He interrupted his legal career to serve for several years as a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the Sanitary Corps during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and protested

racial discrimination Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their Race (human categorization), race, ancestry, ethnicity, ethnic or national origin, and/or Human skin color, skin color and Hair, hair texture. Individuals ...

treatment of African Americans in the

US military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. U.S. federal law names six armed forces: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and the Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except th ...

. He was very interested in furthering the cause of civil rights and improving the condition of black Americans. He succeeded his brother, Joel, 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 The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (NAACP LDF, the Legal Defense Fund, or LDF) is an American civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City. LDF is wholly independent and separate from the NAACP. Although LDF ca ...

and served as the NAACP's president until 1965.

Collector

Spingarn avidly amassed collections. One of them was of books, newspapers, and manuscripts on the black American experience worldwide that was "unique in its depth, breadth, and quality." He sold it to

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

, where it was incorporated into the renamed Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, the largest and most valuable research library in America for the study of black life and history. His other collections were sold at auction in 1966.

Death and legacy

He died at home in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on December 1, 1971. At his memorial service, he was eulogized by Associate Supreme Court Justice

Thurgood Marshall Thoroughgood "Thurgood" Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme C ...

and

Roy Wilkins Roy Ottoway Wilkins (August 30, 1901 – September 8, 1981) was an American civil rights leader from the 1930s to the 1970s. Wilkins' most notable role was his leadership of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), ...

, executive director of the NAACP. Buell C. Gallagher, retired president of the

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

, 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

Notes

Sources

*''New York Times''
Farnsworth Fowle, "Arthur Spingarn of N.A.A.C.P. Is Dead"
December 2, 1971 * Francis H Thompson, ''Arthur Barnett Spingarn: Advocate for Black Rights'' (1987) * Patricia Sullivan, ''Lift Every Voice: The NAACP and the Making of the Civil Rights Movement'' (2009)

External links

Moorland-Spingarn Research Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spingarn, Arthur B. Columbia College (New York) alumni 1878 births 1971 deaths American Jews Columbia Law School alumni NAACP activists United States Army officers United States Army personnel of World War I American book and manuscript collectors