Delivers a solidly researched examination of the NAACP's growth and influence, from its inception in 1909 to the present.

Call to action -- Welding the hammers -- Going south: the NAACP in the World War I era -- Making a way: the "new Negro" in postwar America -- Radical visions: the depression years -- Crossroads: protest and politics in the New Deal era -- In the shadow of war: battlefields for freedom -- Justice now: claiming the postwar moment -- The beginning of the end: segregation must go -- "On the threshold of victory" -- Epilogue: Mirror of America.