Founded as the monthly magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1910, the Crisis has played an important role in the formation and development of African-American public opinion since its inception. As the official voice of America's leading civil rights organization, the Crisis gained entry into a variety of African-American and progressive white homes, from the working class and rural poor to the black middle class. Through the mid-1930s, the Crisis was dominated by the character, personality, and opinions of its first editor and NAACP board member, W. E. B. Du Bois. Because of his broad stature within black communities, Du Bois and the NAACP were synonymous for many African Americans. One of his editorials or essays could literally sway the opinions of thousands of black Americans.

The Crisis

The teens were a time of dynamic change within black communities as...