- Collection:
- Atlanta University and Clark Atlanta University Theses and Dissertations
- Title:
- Assessing organizational effectiveness: A qualitative analysis of select historical and contemporary Black national civil rights organizations in the United States, 2025
- Contributor to Resource:
- Clark Atlanta University
- Date of Original:
- 2025
- Subject:
- Dissertations, Academic
- Location:
- United States, 39.76, -98.5
United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, 33.749, -84.38798 - Medium:
- theses
dissertations - Type:
- Text
- Format:
- application/pdf
- Description:
- This study examines the effectiveness of selected Black National Civil Rights Organizations (B-NCROs) in fulfilling their missions amid evolving social, political, and economic challenges. Building on Robert C. Smith’s (1996) seminal work, We Have No Leaders: African Americans in the Post-Civil Rights Era, this research evaluates four key organizations, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Urban League (NUL), the National Action Network (NAN), and Black Lives Matter (BLM), covering the years 2000 to 2023. This research employs qualitative methods, incorporating historical analysis, case studies, stakeholder interviews, and survey data to assess these organizations based on mission fulfillment, strategic effectiveness, financial sustainability, leadership structures, and their impact on policy and advocacy. This study introduces the Context-Adaptive Framework for Multidimensional Effectiveness (CAFME), merging academic and practitioner perspectives to evaluate efficacy beyond conventional goal-based or contingency theory models. Findings reveal divergent approaches to civil rights advocacy and institutional effectiveness among the selected organizations. The NAACP and NUL uphold structured, hierarchical models with measurable legal and economic outcomes, although critiques regarding bureaucratic inertia persist. In contrast, NAN and BLM prioritize grassroots mobilization and advocacy-driven strategies, achieving high visibility and public engagement but encountering sustainability challenges due to their decentralized structures and reliance on crisis-driven activism. This research contributes to the fields of political science, nonprofit management, and African American studies, bridging historical and contemporary analyses of Black-led civil rights organizations. Refining criteria for assessing organizational success provides a framework for enhancing the efficacy and longevity of mission-driven organizations in the 21st century. Keywords: Black civil rights organizations, nonprofit effectiveness, advocacy, leadership, Black Lives Matter, NAACP, National Urban League, National Action Network, CAFME, racial justice, organizational assessment.
- External Identifiers:
- Metadata URL:
- https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/cau.td:2025_Taylor_Barton_J
- Additional Rights Information:
- All works within this collection are reserved by the author of the scholarship/research. Permission is granted for these materials to be reproduced for personal, non-commercial purposes provided that the author and (Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library OR CAU Graduate Programs) are properly acknowledged.
- Original Collection:
- Atlanta University and Clark Atlanta University Theses and Dissertations
- Holding Institution:
- Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library
- Rights:
-
