Indiana Historical Society - Manuscripts & Archives
User Information
Historical Background
Scope and Content Note
Box and Folder Listing
Cataloguing Information
Processed by:
Marian Carpenter
8 September 1995
VOLUME OF COLLECTION: 2 manuscript boxes
COLLECTION DATES: Inclusive 1940-1982; Bulk 1957-1977
PROVENANCE: Faira and Helen Pruitt, Indianapolis, Indiana, August 1986
RESTRICTIONS: None
REPRODUCTION RIGHTS: Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection must be obtained in writing from the Indiana Historical Society.
RELATED HOLDINGS: Federation of Associated Clubs Records, M 429
ACCESSION NUMBER: 86.542
NOTES: The Progressive Community Club Collection was donated during the Black Women in the Middle West Project.
The Black Women in the Middle West Project was a collecting effort to gather primary source materials of African-American women in Illinois and Indiana. The project, spearheaded by Darlene Clark Hine and Patrick Bidelman at Purdue University, was conducted in three phases from 1977-1985. Project records are located at five repositories within two states including the Indiana Historical Society (IHS) [also houses the project's administrative records], Calument Regional Archives, and the Northern Indiana Historical Society in Indiana and the Chicago Historical Society and the Illinois State Historical Society in Illinois. (Although the implementation phase of the project was from 1984-1985, several of the collections were donated to IHS in 1986).
Additional information about the project is contained in The Black Women in the Middle West Project: A Comprehensive Resource Guide, Illinois and Indiana (E 185.6 .B53 1986), edited by Hine and Bidelman, et. al. and Wilma L. Gibbs's article, "In Retrospect: The Black Women in the Middle West Project at the Indiana Historical Society," Indiana's African-American Heritage: Essays from Black History News & Notes (E185.93 .I4 B52 1993).
The Progressive Community Club was active in Indianapolis during the 1950s. The club sought different ways to improve the African American community including its involvement in a number of clean-up programs such as the Litter Prevention Program and the Clean House Series. In 1957, the club organized a clean-up week to promote cleaner yards within neighborhoods. In 1959, the club formed the Watchdog Committee to discourage undesirable businesses from occupying vacant lots and buildings. The club attempted various ways to better its community: becoming active in educational programs; establishing scholarship funds; and supporting the Better School Committee. It also encouraged community constituents to vote, and it provided clothes for needy children through its Clothe-A-Child community program. In 1956, the Progressive Community Club under the leadership of Chester Little, club president, became a member of the Federation of Associated Clubs (FAC). While affiliated with this organization, the club continued its agenda of helping the less fortunate and promoting a cleaner community throughout the 1980s.
Source: Materials in the Collection
Records within the collection emphasize the Progressive Community Club's programs and activities, as well as information about the Federation of Associated Clubs (FAC) an umbrella organization. The collection comprises two boxes of manuscript materials.
In Box 1, folders 1-13 consist of club correspondence, minutes, club programs, and financial records. It includes correspondence from organizations such as Flanner House and Community Action Against Poverty; fundraiser information; and membership inquiries. The remaining materials in box 1 pertain to the activities and history of the Federation of Associated Clubs. Folders 14-21 contain "The History of the Federation of Associated Clubs, Inc.," a masters thesis written by Dallas Daniels, Jr. in 1976; minutes from 1980-1982; and a club roster. The organization's constitution and by-laws, newsletters, and newsclippings are also included. Box 1 concludes with the minutes from 1960 to 1973 of the FAC's Civic and Public Relations Committee, which organized the group's social events. There are also minutes related to the club's Health and Welfare Committee.
More records pertaining to the FAC make up the bulk of Box 2.
Other records include membership information, poems and prayers that were read during the meetings; programs; and invitations. Folders (5-7) contain FAC booklets, and souvenir programs of the American Passion Play. The last several folders (8-14) contain photographs. There are several unidentified groups and individuals, possibly associated with the Federation of Associated Clubs. Folder 13 contains a photograph of the Federation of Associated Clubs' home as it looked in 1948.
Box 1: Progressive Community Club Correspondence 1957-1977, n.d.; FAC History and Constitution; FAC Minutes, 1980-1982
FOLDER CONTENT
1 Progressive Community Club Correspondence, 1957-1964
2 Progressive Community Club Correspondence, 1965-1969
3 Progressive Community Club Correspondence, 1970-1977
4 Progressive Community Club Correspondence, n.d.
5 Progressive Community Club Minutes, 1954-1956
6 Progressive Community Club Minutes, 1957-1958
7 Progressive Community Club Minutes, 1959
8 Progressive Community Club Minutes, 1960-1961
9 Progressive Community Club Minutes, 1962
10 Progressive Community Club Minutes, 1963-1980
11 Programs and Advertisements
12 Progressive Community Club Business Records
13 Progressive Community Club Receipts
14 Federation of Associated Clubs Correspondence
15 Federation of Associated Clubs Constitution
16 Federation of Associated Clubs Minutes, 1980- 1982
17 "History of the Federation of Associated Clubs", Inc., by Dallas Daniels, Jr.
18 Federation of Associated Clubs Board of Directors Correspondence
19 Federation of Associated Clubs Membership List
20 Federation of Associated Clubs Civic and Public Relation Committee, 1960-1973
21 Federation of Associated Clubs Health and Welfare Committee Minutes
Box 2: Federation of Associated Clubs Correspondence and Programs
FOLDER CONTENT
1 Federation of Associated Clubs Membership Information
2 Federation of Associated Clubs Invitations and Programs, 1940-1965
3 Federation of Associated Clubs Invitations and Programs, 1966-1981, n.d.
4 Federation of Associated Clubs Newsletters and Newsclippings
5 Federation of Associated Clubs Booklets
6 Poems and Prayers
7 American Passion Play
8 (VC) Identified Individuals, 1 folder b/w
9 (VC) Unidentified Individuals, 1 folder b/w
10 (VC) Identified Groups, 1 folder b/w
11 (VC) Unidentified Groups, 9 folders b/w, 1 folder color
12 (VC) Flowers
13 (VC) FAC club home, 1948, 1 folder b/w
14 (VC) Aircraft Carrier, 1 folder b/w
MAIN ENTRY: Progressive Community Club
SUBJECT ENTRIES: Progressive Community Club
Federation of Associated Clubs (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Black Women in the Middle West Project
Afro-Americans--Indiana--Indianapolis--Societies, etc.
Afro-Americans--Indiana--Indianapolis--Photographs
Community development, Urban--Indiana--Indianapolis
Urban renewal--Indiana--Indianapolis--Citizen participation
Clubs--Indiana--Indianapolis
END