William R. Conners to Charles W. Chesnutt, 2 August 1924
| Textual Feature | Appearance |
|---|---|
| alterations to base text (additions or deletions) | added or deleted text |
| passage deleted with a strikethrough mark | |
| passage deleted by overwritten added text | Deleted text Added text |
| position of added text (if not added inline) | [right margin] text added in right margin; [above line] text added above the line |
| proofreading mark | ‸ |
| page number, repeated letterhead, etc. | page number or repeated letterhead |
| supplied text | [supplied text] |
| archivist note | archivist note |
The Negro Welfare Association
OF CLEVELAND, OHIO (INC.)1
AFFILIATED WITH THE NATIONAL URBAN LEAGUE
2337 EAST 55TH STREET
BELL, RANDOLPH 6313
WILLIAM R. CONNERS, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY2
August 2, 1924.
Mr. Charles W. Chesnutt
1105 Williamson Bldg.
Cleveland, Ohio.
My dear Mr. Chesnutt:
There will be an important meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Negro Welfare Association Wednesday afternoon, August 6, at Four o'clock, in Conference Room 503, Welfare Federation, Electric Building.3
There will come up for consideration plans and budget for 1925. There will also come up for consideration a tentative program for the Urban League Conference which meets with the Association December 3 to 6, 1924.4
On account of the importance of this meeting it is earnestly hoped that you will arrange to be present.
Sincerely yours, William R. Conners. William R. Conners, Executive Secretary. WRC:TS.Correspondent: William Randall Conners (1878–1942) was a Black activist and organizer, born in Georgia. He 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, but also sought to improve housing, sanitation, and education for the growing Black community of Cleveland. It was instrumental in founding the Cedar Ave. Branch of the Cleveland YMCA in 1922, the only YMCA branch open to Black men at the time, and was affiliated with the National Urban League (a major service organization to support the Black community, founded in 1910). Chesnutt served on the Association's Board of Trustees for many years and praised it for its "very useful service in opening up new fields of employment for Negroes... and other welfare activities" in "The Negro in Cleveland". [back]
2. For readability, the remainder of the letterhead is not transcribed in the body of the letter but is included in this footnote as unformatted text. 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: "DR. O. A. TAYLOR, PRESIDENT DR. W. B. SUTHERN, SECRETARY MAJOR W. T. ANDERSON, VICE PRESIDENT R. J. FRACKELTON, TREASURER TRUSTEES REV. F. Q. BLANCHARD, CHAIRMAN DR. J. D. WILLIAMSON CHARLES W. CHESNUTT JUDGE MANUEL LEVINE DR. O. A. TAYLOR P. W. LEMON MAJOR W. T. ANDERSON REV. W. B. SUTHERN RUSSELL W. JELLIFFE TRUSTEES JUDGE BRADLEY HULL RALPH PERKINS A. H. MARTIN HON. DUDLEY BLOSSOM REV. CHAS. H. CRABLE R J. FRACKELTON WELCOME T. BLUE RODNEY MORISON, JR. J. WALTER WILLS" [back]
3. The Welfare Federation of Cleveland was founded in 1913 as the Federation for Charity and Philanthropy by the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, to create a non-profit, citizen-led charity umbrella organization. From its founding, it worked with many welfare organizations and helped establish the Negro Welfare Association in 1917. [back]
4. The National Urban League (NUL) was a major service organization to support the Black community, founded in 1910 and until 1920 known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes. From 1918 until 1940, its executive director, Eugene K. Jones (1885-1954), was especially focused on employment discrimination against Blacks. The League's seventh annual national meeting was held in Cleveland December 2-5, 1924 ("Urban League Conference to Meet in Cleveland," The Buffalo American [Buffalo, New York, November 20, 1924]: 1), supported by Cleveland's Negro Welfare Association, which was affiliated with the NUL. [back]
