Truman’s 1947 NAACP Address at the Lincoln Memorial

Harry S. Truman’s 1947 NAACP Address at the Lincoln Memorial was the first address ever made by a U.S. president to the NAACP. Delivered on June 29, 1947, from the Memorial’s steps to ten thousand people, it brought a presidential speech to a large public gathering at a national monument.

The Occasion

On June 29, 1947, Truman spoke to a crowd of ten thousand from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The address was made to the NAACP, giving the occasion both a named organizational audience and a conspicuous public setting.

A Presidential First

The address was the first ever made by a president to the NAACP. Its distinction lay not only in Truman’s appearance before the organization but in the unprecedented nature of that presidential engagement.

Setting and Significance

The scene joined a presidential address, the NAACP, and the Lincoln Memorial before a crowd of ten thousand. The Memorial’s steps served as the platform for an event identified by the book as a first in the relationship between a U.S. president and the organization.