Page:Bates v. City of Little Rock (229 Ark. 819).pdf/6

Rh We assert on behalf of the organization and its members the right to contribute to the NAACP and to seek under its aegis to accomplish the aims and purposes herein described free from any restraints or interference from City or State officials. In addition we assert the right of our members and contributors to participate in the activities of NAACP anonymously, a right which has been recognized as the basic right of every American citizen since the founding of this country.

"I am enclosing herein a copy of the Constitution of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Constitution and By-Laws for Branches of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People."

A similar refusal for similar reasons was made by Birdie Williams, concerning the North Little Rock request. For refusal to furnish the requested information each appellant was fined $25.00 by the Circuit Court; and each in prosecuting her appeal to this Court raises this Federal issue: the ordinance involved – insofar as it requires the names and addresses of the members of and contributors to, the local branch of the NAACP, is an invasion of the rights guaranteed by the amendments to the Constitution of the United States. All the other points urged blend into the one just stated.