OHS Accepts Donation from Federation of Colored Women's Clubs
Bruce Fisher
(405) 522-5049
08/01/11
Oklahoma City, OK
For Immediate Release
Oklahoma Historical Society is accepting a gift of historical significance from the Oklahoma City Federation of Colored Women's Clubs, Inc. and its Brockway Community Center on August 2, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. at the Oklahoma History Center. The Oklahoma City Local Club is an affiliated of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, Inc. and Youth Affiliates. The National Club is the oldest black women's organization in America. The national organization and its local clubs have provided continuous community service since 1896.
The Black Heritage Committee of the Oklahoma Historical Society was established in 1976 at the behest of Governor David Boren as a result of appeals to him by Mrs. Rubye Hall and representatives of the Oklahoma Federation of Colored Women's Clubs. For many years, the Federation provided organization support for the work of the Black Heritage Committee since the committee had no budget or paid staff but functioned in an advisory capacity to the Board on matters pertaining to the heritage of African Americans in Oklahoma.
"It is not an exaggeration to say that Mrs. Hall and the Federation of Colored Women's Club changed the culture of the Oklahoma Historical Society and that we owe a debt of gratitude to them for having the tenacity to insist that African American history be an integral part of Oklahoma history," said Bruce Fisher, curator of African American history at the Oklahoma Historical Society.
The donations include over twenty scrapbooks, historical photographs, correspondence, and minutes that date back to its inception. Several portraits of women that lead the organization and records of the creation of a program called the Grandparents Academy. The Grandparents Academy was developed in Oklahoma City and adopted by the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, Inc.
The Grandparents Academy was developed to help grandparents raising grandchildren. This is an epidemic problem in the State of Oklahoma. The educational clubs provide mentoring, educational scholarship, art and cultural activities, business and professional development activities designed to improve our nations communities.
The Club motto is for each member to do their best to honor God, cultivate the mind, keep healthy bodies and to lift others as they climb the ladder of success.
For more information about the club, contact: Mrs. Odette Scoby, President (405) 424-6715 Email: o.scoby218@att.net or Ms. Melba Holt, LPC/Historian (405) 524-8888.
