William R. Conners to Charles W. Chesnutt, 16 November 1921
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The Negro Welfare Association1
OF CLEVELAND, OHIO (INC.)
AFFILIATED WITH THE NATIONAL LEAGUE ON URBAN CONDITION AMONG NEGROES
2407 EAST 40TH STREET
BELL. ROSEDALE 6313
WILLIAM R. CONNERS, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY2
November 16th, 1921.
Mr. Charles W. Chesnutt
1105 Williamson Building
Cleveland, Ohio.
My dear Mr. Chesnutt:
There will be a very important meeting of the Trustees of the Negro Welfare Association in the conference room of the Y. M. C. A., Prospect Avenue, corner of 22nd Street, Friday afternoon, November 18th at Four o'clock.3
A full attendance of the Board is earnestly desired at this meeting as there will come up for consideration plans for the enlargement of the work.
It is earnestly hoped that you will arrange to be present as we need your advice and co-operation on the proposed plans for the development of the work.
Sincerely yours, William R. Conners William R. Conners, Executive Secretary. WRC-TS.Correspondent: William Randall Conners (1878–1942) was a Black activist and organizer who was born in Georgia, graduated from historically Black Biddle College (now Johnson C. Smith University) in Charlotte, North Carolina, with a B.A. (1897) and an M.A. (1903), followed by a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. After stints as a college instructor and principal in North Carolina and Pennsylvania, he came to Cleveland in 1917. He founded Cleveland's Negro Welfare Association, forerunner of Cleveland's Urban League, and was its executive secretary (1917–1940). He also founded the Lower Woodland Community Council to work with Black leaders in the Woodland district of Cleveland.
1. The Negro Welfare Association (renamed the Urban League of Cleveland in 1940) was founded in 1917 by William Randall Conners (1878–1942) as an interracial organization to help find employment for newly arriving Black workers during the Great Migration and overcome work discrimination. The organization also sought to improve housing, sanitation, and education for the growing Black community of Cleveland. It was affiliated with the National Urban League (a major service organization to support the Black community, founded in 1910 and before 1920 known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes). Chesnutt served on Negro Welfare Association's Board of Trustees for many years. [back]
2. For readability, the remainder of the Negro Welfare Association letterhead is not transcribed at the top of the letter but is included in this footnote as unformatted text. This portion of the letterhead can be seen in its entirety in the accompanying image of the letter. The text of the remainder of the letterhead is as follows: "A. H. Martin, President Miss Hazel E. Mountain, Secretary Trustees Rev. F. Q. Blanchard, Chairman Dr. J. D. Williamson Charles W. Chestnutt Sherman C. Kingsley P. W. Lemon Major W. T. Anderson Rev. Dr. P. O'Connell Russell W. Jelliffe Dr. O. A. Taylor, Vice President. R. J. Frackelton, Treasurer Trustees Bradley Hull Paul L. Feiss A. H. Martin W. J. Hart Miss Hazel E. Mountain R. J. Fishback R. J. Frackelton Dudley S. Blossom Welcome T. Blue" [back]
3. The Cleveland YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) was founded in 1854 and significantly expanded its operations around the turn of the century. The YMCA did not admit members of color at the time, and was often critized by Black leaders for this. In 1922, the YMCA's Cedar Branch at Cedar Ave and 77th St. was founded to serve the Black community, especially Black boys, by civic leaders who were also members of the Negro Welfare Association, most notably Alexander H. Martin (1872–1962), the Association's president in 1921. As Chesnutt noted in his 1930 essay "The Negro in Cleveland," the Cedar Branch continued to be the only YMCA branch to admit Black members in the 1930s, although the YMCA's School of Technology (then just renamed Fenn College, predecessor of Cleveland State University) accepted Black students. [back]
