Kivie Kaplan, President of the NAACP, with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Reverend Ralph Abernathy.

Meeting of Civil Rights Leaders

One of a number of American Jews who were active in the Civil Rights movement, Kivie Kaplan (1904-75) joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1932. In 1966 Kaplan tried to convince baseball legend Jackie Robinson (1919-72), a personal friend, to run for the presidency of the NAACP. Robinson felt that the organization no longer reflected the needs of the African American population and refused, although he encouraged Kaplan to run. Kaplan was elected and served from 1966-75.