NAAGA — National African American Gun Association

Published · Researched 2026-09-21

Slug: naaga · Type: organization (community/training, Black gun ownership) · Deep-pass batch E · Written: 2026-09-21

Overview

The National African American Gun Association is the largest Black firearms organization in the United States — a community, education, and training network rather than a litigation or lobbying shop. Founded in 2015 by Philip Smith (an Atlanta-area man who came to gun ownership in his 50s after a 2014 range visit changed his views; principal office per bylaws in Griffin, Georgia), NAAGA's mission is to expose, educate, and motivate African Americans toward firearm ownership for self-defense, rooted in the history of Black armed self-reliance. Membership is open to all races. As of its 2020 convention, NAAGA self-reported 30,000+ members and 70+ chapters; June 2020 press (The Truth About Guns) cited 34,000+ members and 75 chapters after a pandemic-era surge. Current-activity claims are now freshly sourced (see below): the 2026 Empowerment Summit & Marksmanship Challenge runs October 9–11, 2026 in Atlanta/Covington, GA (South River Gun Club), and a ShellShock Protection partnership was announced September 2026. This resolves Phase 1's 2021-dated coverage flag — NAAGA is verifiably active in 2026.

Social standing (platform pulse)

• Origin story is the brand. Smith's narrative — anti-gun most of his life, converted by a range trip in his 50s, founded NAAGA in 2015, framing the Second Amendment as a civil rights issue given the history of Black disarmament — is retold in every profile (Homeland Security Newswire 2021, InfluenceWatch, Revolt 2020 interview). The org's visual discipline ("every photo is something positive in a positive light of African Americans with guns," Smith) is part of its identity.
• Chapter-level activity is the 2026 evidence: the Henry O. Flipper Chapter's monthly bulletins (Feb 2026, PDF) show standing meetups, range days, and a Mother's Day competition; the Philadelphia "That Gun Talk" chapter's listings show January 2026 range meetups with posted drills (one-handed "Step-Up Drill," adapted from Langdon Tactical) and an active Instagram (@naagaofficialcommunity). This is real, current, grassroots activity — not press-release activity.
• Programs: Queens of Defense (women's group/range day), NAAGA Shooting League, instructor certification, NOC online community (3,000 registered per a 2026 YouTube program video), ham radio group — from President Smith's "NAAGA Programs for 2026" video (Jan 2026).
• Financial honesty note: InfluenceWatch/Candid filings show revenue peaked around 2021 ($903,300) and declined each year since ($704,748 in 2022; $588,752 in 2023; $364,371 in 2024; $286,230 in 2025, with 2025 assets at $79,000). The post-2020 surge faded financially even as the summit and chapters continue. This is sourced third-party data, not org spin — worth keeping in the dossier because the trajectory is material to "current 2026 status."
• No significant independent criticism surfaced in this pass; NAAGA's positioning is broadly positive across both pro-2A and mainstream press. Its non-partisan posture on politicians ("we don't typically comment on politicians but we will adamantly and vigorously talk about policies" — Smith, Bearing Arms interview) is self-described.

Social validation

• Tier 1 (direct community activity): Chapter bulletins (Henry O. Flipper, Feb 2026); That Gun Talk Philadelphia chapter listings with dated 2026 range meetups and drill posts; NAAGA Instagram community activity referenced by chapters.
• Tier 2 (named, dated): naaga.co (2026 Empowerment Summit training schedule, Oct 9–11, 2026); tickettailor.com event page (summit ticketing); theoutdoorwire.com 9/2026 (ShellShock partnership); Homeland Security Newswire 2021 (Smith origin profile); The Truth About Guns 6/24/2020 (membership surge); InfluenceWatch (financials via Candid).
• Tier 3: Org self-descriptions (mission statements, "largest black firearms organization") — labeled as self-described.

Key facts (with dates)

• Founded 2015 by Philip Smith (Atlanta/Griffin, GA); nonprofit; principal office Griffin, GA (2019 bylaws).
• Membership: 30,000+ / 70+ chapters (self-reported at Aug 2020 inaugural convention, Atlanta); 34,000+ / 75 chapters (TTAG, 6/24/2020); open to all races.
• Proclamation at Georgia State Capitol (NAAGA Day; naaga.co, 2020).
• 2026 Empowerment Summit & Marksmanship Challenge: Oct 9–11, 2026, Atlanta + South River Gun Club, Covington GA; members-only; includes Queens of Defense range day, pistol competition, instructor certification (naaga.co + tickettailor, 2026).
• ShellShock Protection partnership announced Sept 2026 (bronze sponsor of 2026 Summit; hearing/eye protection for trainers).
• Financials (InfluenceWatch/Candid): revenue 2021 $903,300 → 2022 $704,748 → 2023 $588,752 → 2024 $364,371 → 2025 $286,230; assets 2025 $79,000. Declining trend is factual and dated.

Community verdict

NAAGA is the genuine article on community gun culture: a grassroots chapter network with real 2026 activity (summit, range days, women's programming) and a mission rooted in Black self-defense history that resonates well beyond its membership. The honest caveat is financial — post-2020 revenue has declined for four straight years even as programming continues, so its current scale should be described from dated chapter evidence, not peak-era membership claims. For anyone studying how gun culture actually spreads at the community level, NAAGA is the case study.

UNVERIFIED / carry-forward flags

• Current (2026) total membership count — no fresh self-reported figure found; peak-era numbers (2020) are dated, not current. Mark current-activity claims as chapter-evidenced, not org-total.
• "Largest black firearms organization in the United States" — self-description (repeated by partners like ShellShock); no independent ranking exists.
• Chapter count in 2026 — not freshly published; the summit and bulletins prove activity, not totals.

Images

0 of 8 downloaded (2026-09-22). Image egress down all session ("Proxy CONNECT aborted due to timeout" — image-host egress dead; search-locator service unaffected); 32 search locators banked at ~/workspace/your_files/guns-research/training/images/_bank/naaga/*.json (4 queries × 8 results); curated picks recorded in ~/workspace/your_files/guns-research/training/images/_bank/picks.json; retry pipeline _bank/download.py (skips banked searches, dedupes by sha256, records provenance). No banked locator counted as an image.

Source log

• NAAGA 2026 Empowerment Summit page: https://naaga.co/05b6 — Oct 9–11, 2026, Atlanta/Covington GA (South River Gun Club); tickettailor.com event page (summit ticketing) — cited by name.
• theoutdoorwire.com, 9/2026 — ShellShock Protection partnership — cited by name/date.
• Henry O. Flipper Chapter monthly bulletins, Feb 2026 (PDF) — standing meetups, range days, Mother's Day competition — cited by name/date.
• That Gun Talk (Philadelphia chapter) listings, Jan 2026 — range meetups, posted drills; chapter Instagram @naagaofficialcommunity — cited by name/date.
• President Smith "NAAGA Programs for 2026" video, Jan 2026 (YouTube) — Queens of Defense, Shooting League, instructor cert, NOC community (3,000 registered) — cited by name/date.
• Homeland Security Newswire 2021 (Smith origin profile); Revolt 2020 interview; Bearing Arms interview (non-partisan posture quote) — cited by name/date.
• The Truth About Guns, 6/24/2020 — 34,000+ members / 75 chapters pandemic surge — cited by name/date.
• InfluenceWatch / Candid filings — revenue 2021–2025 figures ($903,300 → $286,230), 2025 assets $79,000 — cited by name.
• Facebook/Threads/Instagram: no NAAGA-specific group search returned results this pass; Instagram evidence is chapter-referenced only. No social-platform claims beyond the above.