The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is planning to move its headquarters to DC’s U Street corridor, according to a joint news release issued by Mayor Muriel Bowser on Monday.
The NAACP has signed a letter of intent with the District to move its offices to the Frank D. Reeves Center of Municipal Affairs in Northwest Washington after a redevelopment project is completed there. The center will soon become a mixed-use space.
The current headquarters of the organization is in Baltimore. Bowser’s office will cooperate with the NAACP for the move.
“The Reeves Center stands in an iconic and culturally significant area of the U Street corridor with deep connections to the NAACP,” Mayor Bowser was quoted as saying in the statement. “As we continue fighting for change and working to build a more fair and just nation, we look forward to welcoming this iconic civil rights organization to Washington, DC.”
Since its foundation in 1909, the NAACP is known as one of the leading civil rights groups of the nation.
“Through its Washington, DC bureau, the NAACP helped to advance not only integration of the United States Armed Forces in 1948 but also passage of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1964, and 1968 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965,” the Mayor’s Office noted.
Also commenting on the development, Derrick Johnson, the NAACP’s President and CEO, said:
“Washington, DC, sits at the epicenter of change. This exceptional opportunity to bring our national headquarters to DC will allow us to be even more proactive in serving the Black community, and confronting the serious challenges facing the nation. This development venture will fuel the reinvigoration of the NAACP envisioned three years ago. As we have witnessed over the last month, our country is on the cusp of real change that is long overdue. A new home in Washington will allow us to not only fully participate in the growth of this great city, but to also amplify the voices of the Black people as we fight for the crucial policy changes and economic empowerment needed in communities across the country.”