Mary White Ovington: NAACP Founder and Social Activist

Summary

Mary White Ovington, (1865-1951) journalist, activist, and civil rights leader, left an indelible mark on American society. The triumph of Mary White Ovington's career was her involvement in the founding of the NAACP. Her work with the NAACP, however, was merely the climax in a lifetime of hard work and struggle to help improve the life of African Americans. Ovington was one of the few women in her day that had the courage to cross both race and class lines and become an active and vocal supporter of racial equality.

A contemporary of W.E.B. DuBois, Covington was an educated, middle-class white woman who lived in New York City. Born in 1865, Covington witnessed the country's progress as the United States tried to rid itself of the evils of segregation, prejudice, and vigilante justice. Covington was once described as the "fighting saint" who though born into a life of privilege, was never content to turn a blind eye to the unjustness of American society at the turn of the twentieth century.

Ovington worked on building coalitions between diverse groups of people from all sexes, races, and classes. Her service in New York City, and in the South dealing with the race riots, earned her both harsh criticism and staunch support. Ovington spent over forty years working with the NAACP, including thirteen years as Chairman of the Board. It was under Ovington's leadership that the NAACP published Thirty Years of Lynching in the United States, 1889-1918. Ovington's position as a regular contributor to the New York Post made her an influential figure in New York City. Yet, as with many female activists of the time, Ovington's work was overshadowed by her male contemporaries. This paper explores the work of Mary White Ovington, who was a visionary, a pioneer, and a courageous leader.