Charles W. Chesnutt to Arthur B. Spingarn, 29 April 1931
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April 29, 1931
My dear Mr. Spingarn:
I enclose a letter to Mrs. Spingarn,1 which Mrs. Chesnutt2 seems to have misdirected. Please give it to Mrs. Spingarn, and, incidentally, please accept my personal thanks for the courteous entertainment given by Mrs. Spingarn and you to Mrs. Chesnutt during her recent visit to New York.3 She enjoyed the trip very much, and not the least part of her pleasure was meeting you and Mrs. Spingarn.
Cordially yours, Arthur B. Spingarn, Esq., Care N.N.A.C.P.,4 69 Fifth Avenue, New York City.Correspondent: Arthur Barnett Spingarn (1878–1971) was a White Jewish civil-rights activist who, alongside his brother Joel Spingarn, was a leading figure in the NAACP, ultimately serving as its president (1940–1965). He was a lawyer based in New York City and served on the NAACP's legal committee for many years.
1. Marion Mayer Goldman Spingarn (1867–1958) was a widow when she became Arthur Spingarn's wife in 1918. A White Jewish woman from New York City, she was a social worker and worked in women's welfare in the early years of their marriage. She actively supported the NAACP and her husband's work for the organization. [back]
2. Susan Perry Chesnutt (1861–1940) was from a well-established Black family in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and worked as a teacher at Fayetteville's Howard School before marrying Chesnutt. They were married from 1878 until his death in 1932 and had four children: Ethel, Helen, Edwin, and Dorothy. Susan led an active life in Cleveland. [back]
3. The Chesnutts were in New York City in late March of 1931, visiting Susan's sister Mary Perry McCracken (1878–1958) and her husband Richard ("Social News," New York Age, April 4, 1931, 2). [back]
4. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) began in February 1909, with a Committee on the Negro and "The Call," a statement protesting lawlessness against Black people. In 1910, the organization adopted its current name and in 1912 began publication of a monthly journal, The Crisis, which was edited by W. E. B. Du Bois from 1912 to 1944. Chesnutt's involvement with the NAACP extended over many years, and included serving on its General Committee, attending conferences, presiding at NAACP events in Cleveland, publishing four stories and two essays in The Crisis (1912, 1915, 1924, 1926, 1930, and 1931), and being awarded in 1928 the organization's highest honor, the Spingarn Medal. [back]
