Civic duty: History of social clubs preserved in exhibit

T o curator Dianne Swann-Wright, the newest exhibit at the Legacy Museum is about different worlds.

Not other planets — Legacy is a history museum rather than a planetarium — but the social constellations in whose orbits we all find ourselves at different times.

The exhibit, which opens June 21, is “For Our Own Good: African-American Civic and Social Groups in Central Virginia.”

It will include artifacts representing the various civic, social and Greek letter groups that have served the black community of Central Virginia, according to Swann-Wright, director of the Frederick Douglass Isaac Myers Maritime Park in Baltimore and a regular consultant to Legacy.

The opening has been timed to coincide roughly with the Juneteenth holiday on June 19, which marks the end of slavery.

“Some of the things in the exhibit have to do with national groups like the Masons, the Order of the Eastern Star and the Odd Fellows,” said Swann-Wright. “But then there are others, that I’ve never seen before, that seem to be unique to this area.”

During the Jim Crow era, social and civic clubs were sometimes a matter of survival — psychologically and literally.

“There were a lot of groups that evolved to help the less fortunate,” said Legacy board member Carolyn Bell.

Even those who didn’t survive needed help — hence, the proliferation of “burial societies.”

Beyond that, blacks, who endured menial jobs, disrespect and sometimes outright hostility in the segregated society that prevailed during most of the 20th century, could return to their own worlds and, in the later words of Jesse Jackson, “be somebody.”

“There has always been a certain amount of prestige in being part of Alpha Kappa Alpha (an African-American sororiety),” said Joyce Dixon, another Legacy Board member and Kappa Alpha member.
“If you came in as a graduate member, you had to have a college degree. You had to meet certain standards of morals and behavior.”

And according to Bell, a spirited rivalry exists between Alpha Kappa Alpha and another black sororiety, Delta Sigma Theta.

“It’s friendly, though,” Bell said. “They’re constantly playing back and forth, teasing each other.”

The exhibit, which is being assembled and installed this week by Betsy Johnson-Whitten (former curator of collections for the Lynchburg Museum System), will include photographs, letters and artifacts attached to the different organizations. Local historians Lauranett Lee and Katherine Chavigne have also offered their expertise.

“We had a wonderful response to our call for items,” Bell said. “There’s no lack of material.”

“I know with us,” Dixon said, “we’ll buy anything with the Alpha Kappa Alpha logo on it — T-shirts, pens, key chains, whatever. Even the inactive members.”

Did the post-segregation opening of most clubs and organizations to bi-racial membership sound the death knell for the Alpha Kappa Alphas of the world? Not necessarily, said Swann-Wright.
“Many of them are still thriving,” she said.

Which goes back, she added, to the “different worlds” theory. A Central Virginia resident, who happens to be black, may well work at Areva as an engineer and live in Ivy Hill or another gated community. But that doesn’t mean he might not like to reconnect with his cultural heritage, just as the person in the next cubicle might attend bluegrass jams or NASCAR races on the weekend, or maybe play in an Irish band.

“There is still a need for charitable organizations,” said Swann-Wright, “or groups that deal with certain social problems. Many of these civic clubs are currently involved in helping tutor young people, for example.”

The exhibit at the 403 Monroe St. museum will have grand opening ceremonies at noon on June 21.