George W. Brown to Charles W. Chesnutt, 19 April 1932
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THE CLEVELAND BRANCH of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History1
Headquarters: Phillis Wheatley Association
4450 Cedar Avenue2
April 19, 1932
Mr. Charles W. Chestnut,
9719 Lamont Avenue,
Cleveland, Ohio.
Dear Sir:
The next public meeting of the History Association is Saturday night, April 23, at 8 P.M., in the Phillis Wheatley Building.3 This is the Round Table Discussion so widely advertised and eagerly awaited. Many of Cleveland's older residents will participate in an exchange of recollections on the Early History of the Negro in Cleveland. All of your friends are invited to be present.
Tel 8658You are specially invited to participate in the discussion. We know you will highly approve this, but you may not know how Cleveland will enjoy it. John Love, Fred Sturbenz, Ted Robinson, Klinger, and Gordon Simpson of the Press and Plain Dealer will be present.4 If you will permit, the Secretary of our Association, Miss Myrtle Johnson,5 3597 East 93 Street, Michigan 8658, will provide motor car transportation for you on that occasion.
Remember, you are our guest of honor, and the City awaits your contributions to this discussion. These reflections will enrich Cleveland's history. Please communicate with Miss Johnson on any details not clear in this invitation. By all means be present.
Respectfully yours, George Brown George Brown, President. GWB:CCorrespondent: George W. Brown (life dates unknown) served as the president of the Cleveland branch of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1932 and was also in charge of its Research and Collection Division; he was a Black civil servant, appointed examiner for Cleveland's Civil Service Commission in the early 1930s. He is likely the same George W. Brown who taught history at the West Virginia Collegiate Institute in the 1920s.
1. The Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, now the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), was founded by Carter G. Woodson (1875–1950) in 1915, who also edited the organization's Journal of Negro History, to which Chesnutt subscribed. The Cleveland Branch was founded in 1931, with officers and an advisory board consisting of both Black and White Clevelanders, including Chesnutt himself and several of his correspondents. The branch existed until 1937. [back]
2. For readability, the remainder of the letterhead is not transcribed at the top 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: "George W. Brown, President Russell W. Jelliffe, 1st Vice-President Bessie Sargent Smith, 2nd Vice-Pres. Myrtle L. Johnson, Secretary Minerva L. Haywood, Assistant Sec. Dr. Arthur S. Scott, Treasurer Executive Committee Dr. Charles H. Garvin Lawrence K. Powell Kitty O'Brien Roddy K. Moon Gordon H. Simpson L. Pearl Mitchell Contact Division Lawrence Powell, Chairman Research—Collection Division George W. Brown, Chairman Story Telling Division L. Pearl Mitchell, Chairman Advisory Committee Harry E. Davis, Chairman Helen A. Bell Dr. Robert C. Binkley, W. R. U. Charles W. Chesnutt Dr. Arthur Cole, W. R. U. Stanley E. Grannum, D. D. Mabel Jackson Blanche E. Johnson Essie Klinger Cleota Collins Lacy Mary B. Martin Kitty F. O'Brien Dr. N. N. Puckett, W. R. U. Dr. T. Wingate Todd, W. R. U. Jane E. Hunter Dr. R. P Keesecker Louis A. Williams Harry C. Smith John P. Green". [back]
3. The Phillis Wheatley Association of Cleveland was established in 1911 by a Black social worker, Jane Edna Harris Hunter (1882–1971), to house and support single Black women. In 1927, the Association built a 9-story building at 4450 Cedar Avenue with the support of White benefactors. The Association hosted social and educational activities in cooperation with other Black organizations. Although some Black leaders criticized the organization on the grounds that it fostered segregation, Chesnutt and his family were long-standing supporters, and Susan Chesnutt served on the board for a time in the 1930s. [back]
4. In spite of the anticipated presence of many journalists, the April 23, 1932, round table hosted by the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History is not mentioned in the Cleveland Plain Dealer. There is no record that Chesnutt attended the event; in his April 25, 1932 letter to his daughter Ethel, he mentions that he is suffering from "rheumatic pains" that impair his mobility. [back]
5. Myrtle Johnson Bell (1895–1978) was a Black teacher and administrator from Ohio who graduated from Western Reserve University's College for Women in 1916 and taught mathematics at Black colleges in the South before returning to Cleveland to teach and promote the study of Black history. She was secretary of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History and active in many other Black and women's organizations. [back]
