Episode Overview
Although many pinpoint the start of the civil rights movement to 1955, when Rosa Parks defied segregation by refusing to give up her bus seat in Alabama, the groundwork had been laid much earlier by activists from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). While figures like W.E.B. Du Bois and Thurgood Marshall are well-known, Walter White, who led the NAACP from 1929 to 1955, remains largely overlooked. With his light hair and blue eyes, White appeared white, describing himself as “an enigma, a Black man in a white body.” Descended from enslaved Black women and prominent white men, he identified as Black and dedicated his life to advocating for civil rights. Forgotten Hero: Walter White and the NAACP explores the story of this overlooked champion for justice and attempts to understand why he has faded from historical memory.