Mostly Shreveport, LA: 1924-1956. Thirteen manuscript ledgers, all quarto or folio, in contemporary cloth, paper, or partially-leather bindings, totaling approximately 650pp. of manuscript content. Condition ranges from fair to very good, with a few detached covers, occasional detached leaves, varying levels of toning and tanning to text, and other wear. Evidence of regular handling and use, as expected. Good. Item #4349

A highly-informative and unique manuscript record of the activities of several African-American religious and social organizations in the larger Shreveport area of Louisiana over the period of more than three decades beginning in the mid-1920s. These thirteen ledgers mainly record the minutes for organizational meetings, detailing group activities, and also include useful information such as member rolls, monthly dues paid, donations to other organizations, and so forth, for eleven different Black organizations in the Shreveport area, some of whom are exclusively women's groups. The meeting notes record a legion of activities engaged in by the various groups, often opening with the location, date, and time of the meetings, followed by detailed reporting of activities such as organizational committee and financial reports, scripture readings, vocal performances, the election of new members, and numerous other events. The locations of the meetings sometimes include the homes of various named members. The ledgers present here are as follows, in chronological order:

1) Diamond Square Lodge #170. Shreveport, La. 1924-1926. 79pp. Folio. Spine perished, covers detached. A highly-detailed ledger and minutes book with mostly full-page entries recording the activities of the group over a two-year period in the mid-1920s.

2) Mt. Lebanon Lodge #20. Shreveport, La. 1925-1940. 132pp. Records an unusually high time frame of activities and membership information for this local Shreveport men's group, with entries recorded over most of a fifteen year period (with no entries for 1930-32). The ledger contains mostly meeting minutes, but some of the latter section is comprised of membership dues lists. Interestingly, many of the pages over the first half of the ledger are crossed out in pencil with a full-page "X," for reasons which are ultimately unclear.

3) Sunflower Choir Club #7. Shreveport and Foster, La. 1931-1939. Two volumes: 15; 66pp. of manuscript entries. A co-ed organization with members referred to variously as "Brother" or "Sister." The first volume contains seven double-page manuscript tables recording the member rolls and monthly dues paid between 1931 and 1937. The second volume is a continuation of the group's records beginning with membership rolls for 1938 and 1939. This second volume also includes more than fifty pages of meeting minutes. Interestingly, one page records "Disbursements" made in 1938, which included donations to two other choirs named Shiloh and Stonewall.

4) Usher Civic Association, and others. Shreveport, La. 1931-1939. 12pp. of manuscript. The earliest two entries record the minutes of the Usher Civic Association, while some of the later entries pertain to the VFW Glee Club and other usher boards in the area.

5) Stars Chapel Church. Hosston, La. Two volumes: 74; 116pp. 1939-1947. An unusually-dense and informative pair of ledgers detailing the meetings, financials, and other activities of this small church in the tiny town of Hosston, Louisiana. Among the information here are lists of donations for church repairs and member rolls for the years 1939 to 1947.

6) Antioch Baptist Church Usher Board. Shreveport, La. 1942-1944. 57pp. of manuscript text. Some portions of ledger excised. This ledger is accompanied by a delightful landscape watercolor drawing of the Antioch Baptist Church building, measuring 11 x 16 inches, and signed Paul L. Dutzel. This historic Black church building was constructed in 1903 and still stands precisely as it is rendered in this beautiful piece of artwork.

7) The Good Samaritan Club. Shreveport, La. 1942-1943. 60pp. Some leaves detached and worn. Interestingly, the early recorder of this minutes book was not a good speller, often recording some version of the name of the group as "The Good Sirmaraten" or even "Good Surmearic" club.

8) Lilly Lodge #28. Shreveport, La. 1951-1952. 50pp. of manuscript. A neatly-kept ledger of meeting notes and membership dues for a local Masonic group, with most of the work comprised of the meeting notes, with detailed membership rolls and corresponding dues amounts from the previous month listed on facing pages. Every meeting for the Lilly Lodge took place at the Union Masonic Hall in Shreveport.

9) "The Brotherhood." 1953. 9pp. Likely a partial ledger, which begins on page 55 and only contains notes for a few meetings, along with two double-page tables of membership rolls and dues which are only partially recorded. Still, a good record of the names of this group, identified only as "The Brotherhood" in the early-1950s.

10) The Elbert Net Social Club. Bossier City and Shreveport, La. 1955-1956. 30pp. of manuscript. The second entry records the meeting minutes for the El Serepe Social Club, while the remainder of the book relates to the Elbert Net Social Club (likely renamed). In addition to a couple of entries recording meeting minutes, most of the entries for this women's social organization pertain to itemized donations taken up for the birthdays of various members. For example, for Gladis Hamilton's birthday in June 1955, ten different named women contributed a quarter each.

11) The El Serepe Ebanett Social Club. Bossier City, La. 1955-1956. 30pp. of manuscript. Peculiar to this volume are several entries recording lists of donations collected for different purposes, including meals (multiple entries for a "Fish Supper"), pictures, corsages, a "special fund," and more. Also contains some entries for meeting notes, member rolls with dues information, and birthday collections.

African American religious, social, and mutual aid societies were and continue to be vital to the Black community. Traditionally, these groups have provided a sense of community, as well as support and assistance to one another through shared funds, especially when facing systemic oppression and limited access to traditional social services, including religious services, access to colleagues in business, government, healthcare, education, and more. These groups were particularly important to the African-American community during the Jim Crow era, when segregation largely kept Black people literally separated from the larger white society in America. Organizations such as those represented in the present collection were essential to the Black community in Louisiana before the legal end of segregation was announced through various court decisions in the mid-20th century, and also helped the Black community organize during the Civil Rights Movement and beyond.

Taken together, the ledgers contain approximately 650 pages of manuscript entries, providing a unique opportunity for not only deep study of the social activities of African Americans in the Shreveport area over the course of thirty years, but also allowing for comparative analysis between the groups with particular regard to the financial information contained herein. An informative and important manuscript record of African American social life in Jim Crow Louisiana, with broad research potential.

Price: $12,500