Springfield Urban League Collection
Title
Springfield Urban League Collection
Subject
Urban League of Springfield
African Americans
African Americans--Civil Rights
African Americans--Social conditions
Illinois--Springfield
Description
The Springfield Urban League was founded in 1926 to help improve the lives of African American residents. The organization provides services focusing on social conditions and civil rights for Springfield's African American, Hispanic, and other emerging ethnic communities.
Activities featured in the photographs center around Springfield's African American community from the 1940s through the 1960s. The pictures include images of annual meetings, scholarship teas, youth rallies, and activities with public officials including Adlai Stevenson, II, and Martin Luther King, Sr.
Activities featured in the photographs center around Springfield's African American community from the 1940s through the 1960s. The pictures include images of annual meetings, scholarship teas, youth rallies, and activities with public officials including Adlai Stevenson, II, and Martin Luther King, Sr.
Collection Items
Springfield Urban League Nursery School
Participants in the Urban League Nursery School gather with their teacher. The nursery school was established in 1936 by the league through the Works Progress Administration.
Springfield Urban League Nursery School
Participants in the Urban League Nursery School gather outside. The nursery school was established in 1936 by the league through the Works Progress Administration.
Mother's Club
Members of the Springfield Urban League Nursery School Mother's Club. The nursery school was established in 1936 by the league through the Works Progress Administration.
Board Members
A group of board members gather at an open house. Leon Stewart, the 1980 First Citizen and twenty-eight year Urban League board member, is on the right.
Springfield Urban League Luncheon
Interested individuals gather at the Urban League for a luncheon to discuss problems faced by youth.
Vocational Guidance Committee
Ministers, mothers, and youth workers gather at the Urban League to discuss problems faced by youth. Among them are Dr. Ruth Walker, Guidance Director, Lanphier High and Dr. E. A. Lee, Vocational Guidance Committee chairman.
College Guidance Program
Mr. Frank Frankovich of the Thomas Edison School, Mrs. Norman Anderson, teacher at George Washington Junior High School, and Reverend J. D. Hester, pastor at the Zion Baptist Church, meet with students to discuss college entrance requirements.
Panel for the Vocational Guidance Rally
Members of the panel, sponsored by the Springfield Urban League, gather in a church.
Annual Dinner
Guests attend the Springfield Urban League Annual Dinner held at the St. Nicholas Hotel.
Annual Meeting
Board members participate in the annual meeting. The Springfield Urban League was founded in 1926 to help improve the lives of the black population.
Thomas F. Paris
Thomas F. Paris, President of the Board of Directors for the Urban League of Springfield, addressing members of the league at the annual meeting held at the Illinois Baptist Church.
Annual Scholarship Tea, Springfield Urban League Guild
Members attend the annual tea, one of many events held to contribute to the Guild's primary focus, fundraising. On verso: "Mrs. James Smallwood, Mrs. E. A. Lee, Mrs. Eugene Woodson, Miss Lois Shelton, Mrs. G. B. Winston, Mrs. Allan Pryor, Mrs. Walter…
Young Adults Meeting
A group of young adults gather. The Urban League sponsored the National Youth Administration from 1935 to 1941 which helped provide occupational and other training to young adults.
Young Adults Meeting in a Church
A group of young adults meet. The Urban League sponsored the National Youth Administration from 1935 to 1941 which helped provide occupational and other training to young adults.
Lecture
A group of young adults listen to a speaker. The Urban League sponsored the National Youth Administration from 1935 to 1941 which helped provide occupational and other training to young adults.
World War II Mothers
Mothers of World War II veterans gather. Beginning in 1942, the Urban League encouraged blacks to contribute to the war effort both physically and financially.
Film Forum
State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Vernon L. Nickell, introduces panel speakers for the film forum on "The High Wall".
Jerome Singleton and Virginia Harris
Jerome Singleton, the Director of the Douglass Community Center, sits with his secretary, Virginia Harris. The center, located in Champaign, was dedicated in 1945 after years of fundraising by the black community for an adequate recreational…
G. B. Winston
Portrait of Reverend G. B. Winston speaking on Equal Opportunity Day. While serving as executive director of the league, Reverend G. B. Winston worked to establish the Springfield Urban League Scholarship Fund.
Martin Luther King, Sr.
Portrait of Martin Luther King, Sr., Baptist pastor, civil rights leader, and father to Martin Luther King, Jr., speaking from a podium.
Martin Luther King, Sr.
Portrait of Martin Luther King, Sr., Baptist pastor, civil rights leader, and father to Martin Luther King, Jr., reading as he stands behind a podium.
Collection Tree
- Illinois Photographic Collection
- Springfield Urban League Collection