Anti-Lynching Advocacy & Leadership Change
The Louisville Branch of the NAACP played a major role in the effort to pass Kentucky’s Anti-Lynching Law, responding to a surge in racial violence across the state. That same year, the branch underwent a significant leadership change when founders William Henry Steward and Mary E. Parrish were removed from the executive board. Both went on to join the Commission on Interracial Cooperation, continuing their fight for civil rights and racial justice in other arenas.

Youth Leadership and Civil Rights Momentum
The Louisville Branch NAACP and its Youth Council were actively engaged in the growing civil rights movement. They organized around issues of racial violence, discrimination, and equality, laying critical groundwork for the desegregation battles that would follow the Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954.

The Defense of the Black Six & Push for Desegregation
During the 1970s, the Louisville Branch NAACP stood at the forefront of justice once again — this time, in defense of the “Black Six,” a group of local activists wrongfully accused of conspiring to incite unrest. The branch’s legal and public advocacy helped expose the racial bias in the case and protect the rights of Black activists during a tense period of social change. At the same time, the Louisville NAACP continued to champion school desegregation, ultimately contributing to the court-ordered busing plan that transformed Louisville’s public school system later in the decade.

100-Year Anniversary
In 2014, the Louisville chapter of the NAACP celebrated its 100th anniversary with a Freedom Fund Banquet. The event featured speeches from Maryland Congressman Elijah E. Cummings and Kentucky Congressman John Yarmuth.