Woodson also founded the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History, which annually proposes a theme to guide the celebration of African-American history month. This year, the Association has chosen the Niagara Movement, the first collective civil rights movement of the 20th Century, as the theme.

In 1905, a group of prominent African-Americans met in Buffalo, New York to create the vibrant, if not radical, Niagara Movement. The movement called for an end to racial discrimination and sought racial equality and justice for African-Americans. Their first meeting, held at Niagara Falls in 1905, set the stage for their aggressive platform and served as the basis for the name of the group meant to signify the “mighty current” of protest the group wanted to unleash. "We claim for ourselves every single right that belongs to a freeborn American, political, civil, and social, and until we get these rights we will never cease to profess and assail the ears of America," challenged the members at their second meeting in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia in 1906.

The leader of the group was W. E. B. DuBois, a civil rights leader, scholar, lecturer, educator, and writer. He was the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard, a professor at Atlanta University, and the leading black intellectual of his time. Among the other founding members were John Hope, the President of Atlanta University, a noted educator and early 20th Century civil rights leader.

Considered the most radical member of the movement, William Monroe Totter was the editor of the Boston Guardian and the first African-American Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Harvard. His argument with President Woodrow Wilson regarding racial inequality, the increase in the practice of lynching African-Americans, and segregation made the front page of the New York Times.

Mary Talbert also played an important role in the Niagara Movement, lending her home for the Movement’s first secret meeting. Ms. Talbert, known for her activism in civil rights and advocacy for African-American women, was a public figure and speaker on such topics as race relations, anti-lynching and women’s rights.

Although the Movement failed to attract mass support and disbanded in 1910, it cleared the way and led to the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. Many of the ideas of The Niagara Movement were adopted in 1909 by the new civil rights organization.

Today NAACP membership is in excess of 500,000 and continues in its fight for racial equality for all Americans and celebrates ninety-six years in the legacy of the Niagara Movement. As the nation's oldest and most influential civil rights organization, the NAACP ensures the political, educational, social and economic equality of all persons and eliminates racial hatred and racial discrimination. Through the legacy of the Niagara Movement and efforts of the NAACP, legislation has been passed that ensures equal opportunity for all Americans in employment, lending, fair housing and education. Renowned members of the NAACP include Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, Thurgood Marshal and Andrew Young.