Forgotten Hero: Walter White and the NAACP

See that man in the photograph above? He’s BLACK. His name is Walter White, and he’s one of the most overlooked figures of the civil rights movement.

Walter was born in Atlanta in 1893. Like many Blacks, Walter was the descendant of a slaveholder and his slave. In a time when the "one-drop rule" defined anyone with African ancestry as Black, Walter's light complexion was a result of mixed-race heritage. Both his parents were very light-skinned.

He could have chosen to "pass" as a white man — a privilege some in his position used to escape the brutality of racism. Instead, he chose the hard road.

After graduating from Atlanta University in 1916, he helped set up the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP. Then, he joined the national team, where his unique look immediately proved valuable.

For the next decade, he volunteered to regularly travel around the country investigating lynchings and race riots.

He posed as a white man—sometimes a salesman, sometimes a reporter—and ventured into communities where racial violence had just occurred.

The risk was immense. If his true identity were discovered, he would likely be killed.

Yet, White pressed on, interviewing mob participants and other white residents who were often shockingly candid about the violence they had witnessed or participated in.

The information he collected was vital. It provided the NAACP with firsthand evidence, which they used to generate public awareness and lobby for federal anti-lynching legislation. During these dangerous years, White investigated 41 lynchings and 8 race riots. His investigative exploits were detailed in his 1929 book, Rope and Faggot: A Biography of Judge Lynch, provided hard evidence and expert analysis of lynching in America.

White eventually went on to lead the NAACP and led the fight for equal rights. He died in 1955, before it became reality.

Checkout the NAACP Facebook Summary and the full PBS documentary.