Programming and Events at the Colored Branch

Introduction

Programming and events at the Colored Branch ranged from Fashion Shows to Business exhibits and everything in between. Examples include:

• “Rest, club, reading, and supper rooms
• An employment bureau
• Vesper services and Sunday Afternoon At-Homes
• Thursday afternoon and evening Recreation and Club activities
• Red Cross Work; a Mothers’ Club, and Bible Class”

For members: “educational classes, […] cooking, dressmaking, millinery, choral, elementary English, spelling, arithmetic, lectures, [musicals], Physical education, gymnasium, swimming; [m]embership socials; [and] [c]lubs for [i]ndustiral, [b]usiness and [s]chool girls”, and “Negro history classes”

These events were separate and only for Colored Branch members, but as interracial relations increased, integrated events and programs became more common. Clubs and activity groups were self-governing and organized, functioning as democratic organizations within the larger YWCA.

Negro Achievement Week (April 15-22, 1928)

Records of this week-long event represent the scale and influence of the YWCA, as well as early evidence of integration. The event was organized by a joint interracial committee of the Germantown YWCA and the Colored Branch and was also a resounding success. “3,592 people registered to attend one or more individual programs” ¹, which included speeches from key speakers from the Harlem Renaissance, such as W.E.B. DuBois and Alain Leroy Locke, concerts, an art night, community meetings, and a literature night ¹. Along with that, one of the most important parts of this week was that it, “forced participating organizations to consider their roles in something larger than a celebration of Germantown, namely a consideration of another race” and “represented an ambitious program about race at a moment of tremendous racial volatility in Germantown” ². The actions of the organizers as well as participants in this event were genuinely revolutionary at the time considering the state of segregation in larger society. In revisiting this event, we see just how advanced the YWCA was at the time. Through this, we also can understand how “the extent to which the YWCA would lead the way in Germantown, including the integration of its leadership and even of its swimming pool in the early 1940s, comes as less of a surprise considering the track record established by the stellar events of 1928” ². The YWCA was ahead of its time, and demonstrated this through the coordination and execution of Negro Achievement Week.

Activities Secretary Job Posting

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⁴ This document is a job posting for the Activities Secretary at the Branch YWCA. By looking at the requirements for this position, we can get a look into the general activities offered at the Colored Branch. Badminton, tennis, horseback riding, and skating are highlighted in this application, potentially alluding to popular activities or ones frequently offered. Teaching tennis and badminton class is also a necessary skill, which aligns with the fact that there were tennis courts at the 6128 Building. Finally, it is interesting to note the fact that the applicant should have experience working with interracial groups, since this was in 1942 and although the Interracial Charter had not yet been put into place, the organization was already working towards integration.

YWCA Open House 1947

⁵ This notecard includes information regarding Open Houses at both the 5820 and 6128 buildings. There are multiple instances of invitations similar to this one, opening the buildings to the public to talk and get to know one another. These events are evidence of community outreach initiatives to allow participating members to branch out and talk to new people. Furthermore, it is interesting to see events happening at both branches of the YWCA in light of the policy change in 1946 leading towards integration.

Second Annual Business Exhibit

⁶ This notice outlines a Business Exhibit that occurred yearly at the Colored Branch. Included in the proceedings are exhibits about dresses, ways to save money, laundry, cooking, and more. All of these events were meant to serve and inform the community and offer outreach to improve small parts of their lives and foster relationships with members. Furthermore, the fashion show also offered a place for members to view an exciting show and attend an event.