Cunningham says that the mission of the NAACP is more than just desegregation, it is also for excellence in education. He expresses frustration in the depressed neighborhood where the Louisville NAACP office is located. He wants the churches and the school and the other organizations in the neighborhood to get coordinated to help the young children.
Raoul Cunningham was born in 1943 and began working for civil rights at age 14. Cunningham recruited other young people to the cause and, after careful planning, they began picketing numerous downtown Louisville lunch counters and restaurants that refused to serve African-Americans. He attended Howard University. Back in Louisville he worked on the campaign to elect Kentucky Senator Georgia Davis Powers. He worked in the Washington DC office of U.S. Senator Dee Huddleston for many years. He is the President of the Louisville Branch of the NAACP.
This interview took place on June 3th, 2013 as part of the Kentucky Civil Rights Hall of Fame Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History and University of Kentucky Libraries.
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