Previously the superintendent of schools in Oswego, Illinois, Dr. Matthew Wendt now serves as a teacher, principal, and consultant at a number of Chinese schools. Former superintendent Dr. Matthew Wendt has also been a presenter at meetings of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Founded in 1909 in response to racial violence, the NAACP worked to dismantle segregation through a series of court cases. An attorney named Charles Hamilton Houston litigated many of these cases, aided by Thurgood Marshall, who was later named the first African American justice in the U. S. Supreme Court.

Starting in 1896, blacks were separated from whites in schools and other facilities by the “separate but equal” ruling of the court. The NAACP commissioned a study in the 1930s that showed that black facilities were not equal to white ones. Houston demanded that black schools be upgraded to white standards, believing this would prove too expensive for segregated states.

This strategy enabled a series of victories, as whites-only primaries were abolished in the South, followed by the desegregation of public transport and the removal of restrictive covenants from white bankers.

After winning access for African Americans to graduate and professional schools, Marshall argued the Supreme Court should strike down the separate but equal doctrine. His success in 1954 led to federal guarantees of black voting rights and fair housing. Today, the NAACP continues to fight on several fronts, such as against white supremacy, discrimination, and the suppression of voting rights.