In the Invisible Man, the narrator joins up with an organization made up of all blacks who all refer to each other as "Brothers". Referring to each other as brothers while not related, shows that a significant bond exists between all of the members of this group. The bond stands for one of the earliest signs of blacks conforming to their own sets of rules and standards as opposed to the degrading standards the white men want the blacks to abide by. They are all black men that seek to "create the race" the want to become, so that they can create a "culture" all their own. The individualism style of thinking is exactly the kind of thinking we think of when we hear about Martin Luther King Jr. and all the other civil rights leaders. The brotherhood the narrator is in could very well be an origin the civil rights.
The narrator also puts emphasis in the lighting of the building they meet in. The building they meet in has dark rooms with few "low-hanging bulbs" so that they can see their way through. This point further symbolizes the importance of light. The light, meaning purity, is the real light that fills the building. The light of purity is the light that bathes the brotherhood, while it is scarcely found in the major landmarks the white men dominate. The need of physical light is something this brotherhood would find as a something that isn't a nesecity when they have purity. The blacks seek out the light of purity while the whites seek out the light that the devastating fires of absolute control creates.
http://www.ehow.com/list_6854688_list-civil-rights-nonprofit-organizations.html
interesting take on the lights being purity. The one thing that I can think if that may confirm this might be the thousands of lights in our narrators hole. Maybe when he also realizes the purity of light he does this. I would have to read back and see his reasoning, but if that's the case the whole purity and brotherhood meaning behind the lights may be true
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