NAACP Leader Roy Wilkins Thanks Eisenhower for Meeting with Black Leaders and Urges Continued Action on Civil Rights (1958)

Date: June 25, 1958

Created By: Roy Wilkins

Original or Replica: Original

Era: The Presidency, Civil Rights

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: DDE’s Records as President, Official File, Box 614, OF-142-A Negro Matters-Colored Question (6); NAID #12189441

In this June 25, 1958 letter, NAACP Executive Secretary Roy Wilkins thanks President Dwight D. Eisenhower for meeting with a delegation of Black civil rights leaders two days earlier. Wilkins expresses appreciation for the president’s willingness to devote significant time to hearing their views on the challenges facing Black Americans. He acknowledges the enormous domestic and international responsibilities facing Eisenhower and recognizes that the president must balance civil rights concerns with other national priorities.

Wilkins nevertheless emphasizes that millions of Black Americans continued to experience serious barriers to full citizenship. While describing Black Americans as loyal citizens who understood that their concerns could not always take precedence over broader national issues, he argues that racial discrimination had important consequences beyond the United States. Wilkins specifically connects the treatment of Black Americans to American foreign policy and international relations, suggesting that racial inequality damaged the nation’s position abroad during the Cold War. He expresses hope that Eisenhower would carefully consider the delegation’s concerns and take appropriate and effective action. The letter illustrates the continuing effort of civil rights leaders to encourage stronger presidential leadership while also demonstrating how the struggle for racial equality was increasingly connected to America’s international reputation.