Guide to the Dayton Urban League Records

History of Dayton Urban League

The Dayton Urban League was chartered in 1947 through the Community Chest association of Red Feather Organization in Dayton, Ohio. In conjunction with a nation-wide League Network, the Dayton Urban League made an important contribution to the general welfare of the local community through its services to African-Americans in Dayton. The League attempted to improve employment opportunities, accelerate guidance programs for young people, initiate greater participation of Blacks in the activities of other welfare agencies and civic organizations, and to improve the climate of race relations in Dayton.

At the time of its founding, the Dayton Urban League was the only organization where Black and white citizens worked together in an attempt to alleviate the many economic, housing, and social problems affecting African-Americans.

Unlike many organizations that participated in sit-ins, marches, and even violent civil rights protests, the Urban League sought reform through education and by petitioning legislative bodies to change and/or enforce existing laws.

The Dayton Urban League closed in 2010. In 2012, a new Urban League branch - the Miami Valley Urban League - was formed to serve the Dayton area.

Scope and Content

The records of the Dayton Urban League are divided into five series.

Series I, Administrative Records, contains the constitution, by-laws, amendments, program outlines, and general information about the Dayton Urban League. Other records in this series include the Executive Secretary (1951-1960), Executive Secretary Council minutes (1948-1960), Budgets (1957-1967), Financial Statements (1947-1967), and Reports for Examination (1950-1966). There are also appointment calendars of the Executive Secretary, Charles Washington, for 1948, 1954, and 1963, and a Visitor's Register for 1967-1969. Span dates for this series range from 1947 to 1969.

Series II, Correspondence, contains both incoming and outgoing correspondence. The papers in this series cover such topics as: education, housing, race relations, employment, civil rights, government, and various projects and initiatives sponsored by the National Urban League. Of special interest is the personal information included in much of the correspondence, especially that of Mr. Charles Washington; former Executive Secretary of the Dayton Urban League. There are also many solicitations for assistance in obtaining employment and requests for job references. Span dates for this series range from 1946 to 1968.

Series III, Committees, Projects, and Campaigns, supports the evidence of the wide range of influence wielded by the Dayton Urban League. Contained herein, with varying degrees of completeness of documentation, are data about the committees, projects, and campaigns of the Dayton Urban League. Committee minutes include those of the Executive Board for 1953-1966; Health and Welfare for 1950-1966; Sponsoring for 1947; Intercultural for 1958; High School Age Boys and Girls for 1958; and Vocational Guidance for 1950-1963. Major projects and campaigns included in this series cover the following subject areas: Moving Ahead Together, Housing, Urban Renewal, City Transit System, Industrial Relations, Jobs and Employment, Vocational Opportunity, Education, Voting, Race Relations, City Government, Social Work, Health Care and Welfare, and Community Welfare. Span dates for projects and campaigns range from 1940 to 1968.

Series IV, Associations, offers information about local, regional, and National Urban League related associations. These include local civic organizations, news clips of Dayton Urban League activities, miscellaneous state urban league publications, many National Urban League (NUL) newsletters and publications for 1949-1967, NUL memoranda for 1948-1968, NUL Annual Conference publications for 1944-1948, l950-1952, 1954-1959, and 1961-1967, and NUL sponsored speeches of Whitney Young and Lester Granger. Span dates for this series range from 1944 to 1968.

Series V, News Clippings, is a collection of news clippings about race relations in the Dayton area. Subjects include: housing, education, health, civil rights, employment, drug and narcotics, and S.C.O.P.E. Span dates for the clippings range from about 1943 to about 1968.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Use

The deed of gift gives to Wright State University the literary rights to all material in the collection except the National Urban League Research Department, whose right may be waived upon request from the Trustees of Wright State University. Such waiver will only be necessary in one request, such request to represent the whole of all property received by Wright State University. Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.

Restrictions on Access

There are no restrictions on accessing material in this collection.

MS-39: Springfield Urban League Records

Subject Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

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Preferred Citation

[Description of item, Date, Box #, Folder #], MS-38, Dayton Urban League Records, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated to Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University Libraries, in April 1971, by the Board of Directors of the Dayton Urban League.

Processing Information

The original collection processing and finding aid were completed by Doug Andrus and Chris Cupp, in Spring 1989.

Other Finding Aid

The finding aid is available on the Special Collections & Archives, Wright State University Libraries web site at
https://wright.libraryhost.com/repositories/2/resources/1691.