banner to which republicans, nationalists, communists, socialists, liberals and the unaffiliated could rally. NICRA's executive council brought together such diverse groups as the republican Wolfe Tone Society and the Campaign for Social Justice, whose founders and leaders believed traditional nationalist politics were ineffective in serving the needs of the Catholic minority. The constitution of NICRA was based on that of the British National Council for Civil Liberties. NICRA's name was expressed in English only. The constitution emphasised the association's character as non-party and non-denominational, and as a body which would make representations on the broad issues of civil liberties and would also take up individual cases of discrimination and ill-treatment and stated NICRA's aims as "to assist in the maintenance of civil liberties, including freedom of speech, propaganda and assembly". NICRA's aims were: 1. To defend the basic freedoms of all citizens. 2. To protect the rights of the individual. 3. To highlight all possible abuses of power. 4. To demand guarantees for freedom of speech, assembly and association. 5. To inform the public of their lawful rights. It had six main demands: 1. "One man, one vote" which would allow all people over the age of 18 to vote in local council elections and remove the multiple votes held by business owners – known as the "business vote". 2. An end to gerrymandering electoral wards to produce an artificial unionist majority. 3. Prevention of discrimination in the allocation of government jobs. 4. Prevention of discrimination in the allocation of council housing. 5. The removal of the Special Powers Act. 6. The disbandment of the almost entirely Protestant Ulster Special Constabulary (B Specials). Links with other civil rights associations In conscious imitation of the philosophy of, and tactics used, by the American Civil Rights Movement, and modeled somewhat on the National Council for Civil Liberties, the new organisation held marches, pickets, sit-ins and protests to pressure the Government of Northern Ireland to grant these demands. The Northern Irish movement incorporated much of the African American movement's vernacular and protest songs from their transatlantic counterparts such as "We Shall Overcome" and "We Shall Not Be Moved" became common at NICRA protests. In 1968, Derry civil rights leader Finbar O'Doherty would refer to Northern Irish Catholics as Ulster's "white negros" in a speech that gained traction in the world's press. This widespread attention, particularly in the United States, helped NICRA secure a