Founded in 1909 in response to the ongoing violence against Black people around the country, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is the largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization in the nation. We have over 2,200 units and branches across the nation, along with well over 2 million activists. Our mission is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons.

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In 1955, Audrey Grevious got involved with the NAACP in Lexington, Kentucky. After attending the NAACP convention in New York, she felt that something needed to be done about discrimination in public places. She volunteered for a project to drive down to Kentucky through Washington, D.C. and Virginia. from New York. They planned to stop at restaurants and hotels to be served. They were refused service in most places, while some areas offered to only serve them by giving them food in a paper bag through a side window or back door. 

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In 1957, she was elected as president of the NAACP in Lexington. Her anger over her trip fueled her passion to get involved in the civil rights movement. She was also vice president of the Congress for Racial Equality (CORE). The two organizations collaborated to begin boycotts. They had a boycott for all stores on Main Street and two grocery stores in hopes that the grocers would open up more opportunities for African Americans. Between 1958-1962, both organizations began organizing sit-ins at local ten-cent stores.