Julius Rosenwald, the YMCA, and African

Transcription

Rethinking the American Jewish Experience
A Peculiar Alliance: Julius Rosenwald,
the YMCA, and African-Americans,
1910-1933
Nina Mjagkij
In 1910, Julius Rosenwald, the Jewish mail-order magnate from
Chicago, joined forces with the Young Men's Christian Association to
provide YMCA branches for African-Americans. Rosenwald offered
to contribute $25,000 to 'every community in the United States that
raised $75,000 toward the erection of an African-American YMCA.
Rosenwald's offer triggered nationwide fund-raising campaigns and
resulted in the construction of twenty-four YMCA buildings.'
The alliance between Rosenwald, the YMCA, and African-Americans seems rather peculiar at first glance. Why would a Jew support
the establishment of Christian facilities for African-Americans?David
Levering Lewis, who examined the collaboration between AfricanAmericans and Jews during the 1910s and 1920s~has suggested that
some of the wealthy Jews who aided African-Americans had ulterior
motives. According to Lewis, they reasoned that their assistance to
the African-American struggle for racial advancement would spare
Jews "some of the necessity of directly rebutting anti-Semitic stereotypes," for white America would perforce conclude that if "blacks
could make good citizens . . . all other groups [including Jews] could
make better ones."' Yet Lewis's highly interpretive study offers no
evidence to support this contention.
Julius Rosenwald certainly never said that his support of AfricanAmerican causes was stimulated by a desire to refute anti-Semitic
stereotypes. On the contrary, Rosenwald claimed that he was motivated by sympathy for the victims of discrimination. Having experienced the indignity of anti-Semitism, he felt compassion for those
who suffered from racism.
However, Rosenwald's YMCA activities were not only the result of
compassion. The peculiar alliance between the Jew from Chicago and
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American Jewish Archives
African-American Christians seems to have been forged at least in
part by a shared set of values. Despite anti-Semitism and racism,
Rosenwald and African-Americans in the YMCA believed in the
promise of the American Dream. They embraced the concept of
rugged individualism as a means of achieving success. They resented
charity, claiming that it undermined personal initiative and deprived
the individual of a sense of pride and achievement. Thus, while
Rosenwald shared neither race nor religion with African-Americans
in the YMCA, he did share with them a belief in personal improvement and self-help.
Rosenwald's conviction that the American Dream could indeed
become reality was rooted in his personal experiences. Born on
August 12, 1862, the second son of German Jewish immigrants,
Rosenwald grew up in Springfield, Illinois, where his parents operated a small retail store. In 1879, without completing high school, he
entered the clothing business as an apprentice to his uncles in New
York City. Within five years he had saved enough money to open a
clothing store in New York. After this successful venture Rosenwald
moved to Chicago to manufacture garments, and in 1895 he bought
$35,000 worth of shares in the stock of one of his customers, the Sears
Roebuck Company. The following year Rosenwald became vice-president of the company and launched a brilliant advertising campaign
which firmly established Sears in the mail-order business. By 1909
Rosenwald was president of Sears, and the company was recording
annual sales of more than $~o,ooo,ooo.~
As president of Sears, Rosenwald "accumulated a fortune, making
more money than he could use."4 This caused him much concern.
Rosenwald was particularly worried about the effect of his wealth on
his family. He was afraid that it would become "a millstone about the
neck" of his five children.5 As a self-made man who believed that work
was a "privilege," Rosenwald feared that a large inheritance would
Howdeprive his children "of the joy of honest, conscientious lab~r."~
ever, he was not only concerned about the effects of his wealth on his
family. He was also embarrassed about the size of his fortune. As he
remarked to a friend: "I really feel ashamed to have so much money"7
Rosenwald tried to ;ope with his "Burden of Wealth" by adopting
Andrew Carnegie's philosophy of civic stewardship.' Rosenwald was
Rethinking the American Jewish Expevience
587
concerned that the massive urbanization, industrialization, and
immigration of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries had
produced social conditions which were weakening America's democracy. The wealthy, Rosenwald claimed, had an obligation to use their
fortunes to seek out and heal "the sore spots of civilization" in order
to guarantee that America remained the land of equal ~pportunity.~
Accordingly, he argued that the "generation which has contributed to
the making of a millionaire should be the one to profit by his generosity."'" Based on this conviction, Rosenwald supported social improvement and educational activities in Chicago and throughout the
nation, and eventually gave away $6~,ooo,ooo.Nearly half of this
money went to African-Americans."
Rosenwaldls concern for the plight of African-Americans was
aroused by Dr. Paul J. Sachs, a former business partner of Goldman,
Sachs and Company, who had taken an interest in the Urban League
and tried to enlist Rosenwaldls support." In 1910, Sachs presented
Rosenwald with a biography of William H. Baldwin, Jr., founder of
the Urban League, and a copy of Booker T. Washington's Up from
Slavey."These two books influenced Rosenwald more than anything
he had ever read.14
Washington's rise from slavery to the presidency of Tuskegee Institute was a career Rosenwald admired. He and Washington were both
self-made men who valued hard work and personal initiative. Moreover, they shared a belief in the civic responsibility of the "better
types of citizens" for the less fortunate ones.15In addition, Rosenwald
was particularly impressed with Baldwin's contention that the fate of
African-Americans was inseparably linked to the progress of the
nation at large.16As Rosenwald explained:
I am interested in the Negro people because I am also interested in the white
people. Negroes are one-tenth of our population. If we promote better citizenship among the Negroes not only are they improved, but our entire citizenship
is benefitted.'T
Rosenwald's interest in African-Americans was also influenced by
his Jewish heritage, which had made him sensitive to prejudice and
discrimination."
Chailffeetlr and atlto mechanics classes zvere populnrfcntures of the
Rosenwald Y M C A s - Wabash Avenue Brarzch, Clzicago, opened in 1913
(Courtesy Y M C A <,I thc USA Archivt.-., Inivcrsily of Mi~rnca)laLibraries)
589
I also belong to a race that suffers and has suffered for centuries. . . . You would
also probably be surprised to know that there are . . . clubs in the city of Chicago, representing what you might call the best type of citizenship. . . that would
not admit a Jew.'9
But despite these handicaps, Rosenwald believed that America
offered Jews and African-Americans unparalleled opportunities if
they behaved "properly" and displayed "proper citizen~hip."~
Rosenwald's philanthropic efforts on behalf of African-Americans
began with his support of the YMCA in 1910." He later recalled how
startled he was when first approached by a Christian raising money
for missionary work in Africa.
I, a Jew, had no real interest in securing converts for Christianity. . . . However,
I could not help but think why on earth do people want to spend their time and
money on Africans, eight thousand miles away when we have millions of that
race who are our citizens, who are anxious to learn, and I have no doubt would
be glad to take advantage of any missionary work which might be available . . .
and that the time and money would, to my mind, bring far greater results . . . to
our own citizens, both black and white."
Rosenwald decided to support the YMCA because its institutions
provided African-Americans with opportunities for self-help and personal improvement and not with charity. By supporting black YMCAs,
he would be assisting African-Americans, for whom he felt compassion, without compromising his belief in rugged individualism.'3
In the spring of 1910, when officials of the white YMCA in Chicago
asked Rosenwald for a donation to its building fund, he responded:
"I won't give a cent to this $35o,ooo fund unless you will include in it
the building of a Colored Men's Y.M.C.A."W Rosenwald then offered
to contribute $25,000 provided that the fund include a building for
Chicago's African-American p o p ~ l a t i o n . 'The
~ Chicago YMCA
accepted his conditions.
In December 1910, the Chicago YMCA asked Dr. Jesse E. Moorland, one of the highest-ranking black YMCA officials, to assist in
conducting a fund-raising campaign for an African-American
bran~h.'~
Moorland had joined the International Council of the YMCA
in 1898 as one of two African-American secretaries responsible for the
organization of African-American branches in cities. In June 1907,
Jesse E. Moorlnnd (1863-1940) zuas the highest-ranking African-Amer~carz
Y M C A ojficial in charge of city branches
( C O I ~ , ~\, Y M C A of tlir L 5 A A ~ c h ~ vLwnl\er<lty of M~nnesotaLlbrane5)
591
Moorland had investigated the possibility of obtaining equipment
and support for a black YMCA in Chicago.'7 He had conducted a survey of Chicago's African-American populace and found that without
the backing of "some interested friends," they would be unable to
raise the necessary funds for a YMCA building. However, they would
be able to support a branch and "make it self-sustaining." Thus, he
urged the construction of a black YMCA.* Despite this, efforts to raise
funds for this purpose did not begin until Rosenwald promised his
assistance in 1910.
After Moorland's arrival in Chicago in December of that year,
Rosenwald invited him to lunch at his office.'g During this meeting on
December 16, 1910, Rosenwald asked about YMCA work among
African-Americans throughout the country. Moorland explained that
the YMCA assisted local groups in forming associations and raising
funds but did not give financial aid. Thus, black YMCAs were largely
dependent on the support of local African-American citizens, who
were often unable to raise sufficient funds by themselves. As a result
black YMCAs remained ill-equipped and provided minimal ser~ices.~"
By 1910, some forty black YMCA groups existed in American
cities. However, none owned modern buildings designed and built
for YMCA use. Instead they usually functioned in rented premises,
often former saloons or old buildings turned into YMCA facilities?'
Perhaps Rosenwald's interest was quickened when Moorland
informed him that John D. Rockefeller, Sr., had contributed $25,000
toward the construction of a black YMCA in Washington, D.C., and
that George Foster Peabody had endowed an African-American
branch for his hometown, Columbus, Ge~rgia.~'
During the lunch Rosenwald offered to contribute $25,000 to every
community in the country that raised $75,000 toward the erection of
an African-American YMCA over the next five years. The only condition was that he would give the $25,000 only after $5o,ooo raised
locally was "actually expended for land and building."33
Rosenwald's offer reflected his acceptance of Booker T. Washington's accommodationist philosophy. Instead of challenging the
YMCA's Jim Crow policy, Rosenwald tried to assist African-Americans to secure equal but separate facilities. This, he believed, would
provide "a needy and worthy group of our citizens" with "a fair
592
chance" to earn the respect of whites.34 Like Washington, Rosenwald
hoped to achieve his goal by fostering cooperation between "the best
men of both races" as well as by racial self-help.35
Rosenwald was convinced that America's racial problems resulted
from a lack of knowledge and understanding between the races.
Ignorance, he believed, could only be overcome gradually as cooperation between African-Americans and whites eventually helped to
reduce prejudice.J6The matching-funds offer was designed to induce
the races to cooperate by requiring communities to raise two-thirds of
the necessary funds locally.
Moreover, Rosenwald's conditional offer was intended to inspire
African-Americans to take an active and responsible part in the fundraising campaigns. Rosenwald, like other philanthropists, endorsed
the "ideology of rugged individualism" and rejected "mere" charity.37
His philanthropy was designed to provide African-Americans with
"an opportunity, not to be worked for but to be worked ~ith."3~
Moorland shared Rosenwald's belief that charity undermined personal initiative and deprived individuals of the sense of pride and
achievement that could only be gained through hard work. Thus he
objected to George Foster Peabody's endowment of the YMCA in
Columbus, Georgia, claiming it had a "weakening and benumbing
influence."39 Instead, he welcomed Rosenwald's stimulating challenge, explaining:
Very little would be accomplished by working for men or by handing them a
ready-made program. This might do very well for children and feeble-minded
persons but lasting and effective results could be gotten by working with p e ~ p l e . ~
Two weeks after the lunch, Rosenwald confirmed his matchingfunds offer in a letter to the Chicago YMCA. On January I, 1911, he
announced it at a public meeting of African-Americans who had
gathered at Chicago's Odd Fellows Hall to launch a fund-raising
campaign for a black YMCA.4'In response to Rosenwald's offer, Norman W. Harris, a prominent Chicago banker, and Cyrus H.
McCormick, the president of International Harvester, each contributed $25,000 to the black building fund.4' Inspired by these contributions, James H. Tilghman, a retired African-American messenger
for the Chesapeake Telephone Company, donated his life's saving of
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$1,000.~~
Tilghman, who had arrived in Chicago in 1881 "without
friends and hardly a dollar," expressed his hope that a black YMCA
would provide travelers and newcomers to the city with "a desirable
place where a young man can feel homelike and happy.""
After the press publicized his offer, Rosenwald received enthusiastic
responses from all over the country. President William Howard Taft,
for example, claimed that "nothing could be more useful to the race
and to the country."45 The Chicago Defender, an African-American newspaper, likened Rosenwald's offer to the Emancipation Proclamation,
comparing him to John Brown, Charles Summer, and Abraham Lincoln; the Southern Workman, the journal of the Hampton Institute,
claimed that both "races will be blessed by [Rosenwald's offer], for,
after all, humanity is a unit"; Booker T. Washington called it "one of the
wisest and best-paying philanthropic investments"; and George Foster
Peabody assured Rosenwald that "no future investments will prove
more profitable than those made to further Negro Y.M.C.A.
Despite the widespread acclaim, however, Rosenwald's offer also
met with criticism, due to its implicit acceptance of the YMCA's Jim
Crow policy. W. E. B. Du Bois, the editor of the Crisis, for instance,
praised Rosenwald's generosity but condemned the YMCA, charging
that "it is an unchristian and unjust and dangerous procedure which
segregates colored people in the Y.M.C.A."47 And he cautioned: "We
may be glad of the colored Y.M.C.A. movement on the one hand, on
the other hand we must never for a single moment fail to recognize
the injustice which has made it an unfortunate ne~essity."~'
Similarly, the Broad Ax, another Chicago African-American newspaper, spoke favorably of Rosenwald's offer but asked:
Why not offer $25,000 to every city in the U.S. which will open its Y.M.C.A
door to their brother in black? . . . We have no faith in any Y.M.C.A. which will
not admit a respectable, intelligent young man of color, and we don't believe
that God, in his goodness, approves of such devilish prejudice, under the guise
of a Christian fraternity.49
Nevertheless many African-Americans greeted Rosenwald's offer
enthusiastically. They were willing to accept segregated facilities
rather than forgo the practical benefits they believed a YMCA would
offer.5" Moreover, a growing number of white Americans began to
594
support African-American fund-raising efforts, convinced that the
YMCA's "wholesome" influence would benefit the community at
large. The Kansas City Journal, for example, asked: "Would it not be
effective economy to build a negro Y.M.C.A. rather than to make a
larger appropriation for the police force and the maintenance of the
courts and penal institutions?"5'
The allocation of Rosenwald funds was supervised by white officials of the Chicago YMCA, while Moorland served as executive officer in the field. Moorland visited communities which considered
applying for Rosenwald aid in order to survey the economic situation
of African-Americans and the state of race relations. When he was
convinced that a community was able to maintain a YMCA building
as well as to raise sufficient funds for construction, he sent a positive
recommendation to the Chicago YMCA. He then organized and
supervised the local fund-raising campaign among African-Americans.52For a period of ten to fourteen days, teams of local YMCA supporters collected subscriptions or pledges that were to be paid after
the successful completion of the ~ampaign.~3
During the five-year term of the offer, seven cities conducted successful fund-raising campaigns. Black YMCA branches were built in
Washington, Chicago, Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Kansas City,
Cincinnati, and St. Louis with the help of Rosenwald's $25,000 gifts.54
When the offer expired at the end of 19-15, Rosenwald granted extensions to six other cities. Over the next five years, successful campaigns for "Rosenwald YMCAs" were conducted in Brooklyn,
Baltimore, Columbus, Harlem, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh.55
Rosenwald was pleased with the thirteen black YMCAs his matching-funds policy had helped to create, and in 1920 he considered
renewing his offer. First, however, he asked the YMCA to survey and
evaluate the progress of the existing branches. Rosenwald was particularly interested in the services rendered to African-Americans and
the degree of interracial cooperation his offer had stimulated.
The YMCA asked a white official, William J. Parker, and Moorland
to conduct independent studies of the Rosenwald YMCAs. After
interviewing the African-American secretaries of the Rosenwald
YMCAs, Moorland reported that the branches served not only their
members but also the community at large. The black YMCAs had
-
595
become community centers providing a meeting place for a variety of
African-American groups, from choirs to local chapters of the
NAACP.56Moreover, "the building movement has taught many men
how to promote secular business enterprises in the matter of establishing banks, building apartment houses, as well as churches and, in
some cases, schools, putting their affairs on a better financial basis.'l57
Though his overall appraisal of the Rosenwald YMCAs was quite
favorable, Moorland took a dim view of the fact that the Chicago
YMCA, alone among the thirteen branches financed by Rosenthal,
did not have an African-American chairman.
Parker's study of the Rosenwald YMCAs was based solely on interviews with white YMCA officials in the thirteen cities. He found that
the black branches had a "surprisingly larger" membership, "fairly
competent" secretaries, and the support of "the leading colored professional and business men." In the fields of religion, social events,
housing, and recreation, Parker reported satisfactory progress. However, he pointed out, neither the physical nor the educational programs compared favorably with work done in white YMCAs.5'
In his report, Parker noted that many African-Americans had
failed to pay the amounts they had pledged during the fund-raising
campaigns. He explained, however, that they had "pledged in good
faith but overestimated their ability to pay," and in addition they did
not generally have the means to support their branches beyond the
payment of membership fees. Thus, local white YMCAs continued to
support the black branches financially through "appropriations from
their general f~nds."~9
Concerning interracial cooperation, Parker stated that relations
between white and black YMCA officials seemed "to be very intimate
and cordial" but admitted that their contacts were "limited to official
occasion^."^ Regarding salaries Parker found that African-American
secretaries were generally paid less than their white counterparts.
Only one-third of the branches paid African-Americans the same
salary as whites, while the remainder paid them about 25 percent less
than whites6' Despite these shortcomings, Parker urged Rosenwald
to reopen his "original offer for a reasonable peri~d."~'
Although both Moorland and Parker suggested a renewal of
Rosenwald's offer, each proposed different conditions. Parker recom-
596
mended a continuation of the 1910 offer with new conditions requiring standard-sized buildings equipped with swimming pool, dormitories, cafeteria, as well as physical, recreational, and educational
rooms. This reflected Parker's desire to provide African-American
communities with YMCA buildings that were equal to their white
counterparts.
Moorland, on the other hand, argued that the matching-funds policy worked to the disadvantage of African-Americans who lived in
the rural South, the majority of the African-American populace at
that time.@In the South virtually no recreational facilities for AfricanAmericans existed, and white southerners were usually unwilling to
make significant contributions to the fund-raising campaigns. Some
cities, such as Nashville, Jacksonville, and New Orleans, had tried to
match Rosenwald's offer, but failed because of the lack of white supp0rt.Q Of the first thirteen Rosenwald YMCAs, only three-those in
Atlanta, Baltimore, and Washington-were in the South, where some
90 percent of America's black population lived. As Moorland noted:
The conditions in the South are so different to what they are in Chicago and the
North, that there is no comparison. It would be almost a phenomenon if we discovered a white man in the South would give $25,oo0.00to a colored building."
Moorland urged Rosenwald to support YMCAs where they were
needed and not just where the local population was willing and able
to finance them. He proposed an offer that would allow for smaller
and less well equipped buildings, thereby enabling poorer communities, particularly those in the South, to qualify for Rosenwald aid."
However, Moorland's efforts to convince Rosenwald to change the
conditions of his offer were unsuccessful. Rosenwald's philanthropy
was based on the ideology of self-help, and from this standpoint,
those who could not raise their share were not worthy of receiving
his share. Thus, Rosenwald's renewal offer was much closer to Parker's. On July 6,1920, Rosenwald announced a two-year renewal of his
offer, asking local communities to raise $125,000 in order to qualify
for a $25,000 donation. There were several conditions. Branches built
with Rosenwald's support would have to include the following features: "(I) separate quarters for men and boys; (2) standard Gymnasi-
597
um; (3) swimming pool; (4) class and club rooms; (5) Restaurant, and
(6)not fewer than fifty (50) dormitory r0oms."~7
The increase in the required matching funds and the high cost of
building materials following World War I made the new offer futile.68
In the next two years no American city was able to raise sufficient
funds. However, Rosenwald granted extensions to eleven ~ities.~9
Between 1924 and 1933 eleven more black YMCA branches were built
in northern and western cities: Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, Buffalo,
Dayton, Montclair, New Jersey, Toledo, Dallas, Youngstown, Orange,
New Jersey, and Harrisburg7"
Rosenwald's conditional gifts resulted in the first major effort of
the YMCA to provide adequate facilities for urban African-Americans. The twenty-four buildings erected between 1912 and 1933 were
equipped with swimming pools, gymnasia, cafeterias, reading and
class rooms, employment bureaus, and dormitories. They provided
facilities previously all but unknown to African-Americans.7' The
pools and gymnasia offered recreation and exercise for YMCA members as well as for African-American students from area schools. The
YMCA's educational program included a variety of classes, such as
elementary English, typing, architectural drawing, stenography auto
mechanics, and driving lessons, enhancing the vocational qualifications of members. For a long time the dormitories of the Rosenwald
YMCAs were practically the only places where African-American
male travelers could find comfortable and safe sleeping accommodations outside the homes of relatives and friends.7' By 1933 the Rosenwald YMCAs had an aggregate membership of almost 20,000 and the
buildings were utilized by many thousands of other African-American~.~
The
' location of the YMCAs in or near the African-American
business districts enhanced their importance for the African-American community.
Thus, the Rosenwald YMCAs improved the quality of life for
many urban African-American males. By providing recreational and
educational programs as well as accommodations, the YMCA offered
African-American men and boys an alternative to the city streets. The
mother of a member of the Washington branch expressed what many
parents must have felt: "Before this building was opened I did not
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American JewishArchives
know where my boy was. Now I rest content, knowing that his
leisure time is being properly directed."74
In addition to providing them with improved leisure-time activities, Rosenwald's philanthropy also stimulated African-Americans to
actively participate in the planning and fund-raising efforts.
Although Rosendald and other whites contributed 86 percent of the
funds, African-Americans gave substantial amounts of money considering their economic situation." According to the Southern Workman, the fund-raising campaign "called up latent energies which
were heretofore undreamed of. It established self-confidence among
the colored people, who worked earnestly to do their share in securing funds for the big Y.M.C.A. building ~ampaign."7~
At the dedication of Chicago's Wabash Avenue branch, Rosenwald
acknowledged and praised the involvement and support of AfricanAmericans.
You now have an enterprise in which you have participated from the start, for
you conducted a campaign for raising money to build it. . . . You are organizing
the force to operate the plant. You are going to run it, too, what a chance for
you to make good! What a grand opportunity to grow strong! What an efficient
help to dissipate prejudice!n
Rosenwald's philanthropy was less successful in stimulating interracial cooperation. Blacks and whites cooperated for the duration of
the fund-raising campaigns, but once the buildings were completed,
interracial cooperation usually came to an end. Nevertheless, most of
the cities reported that the joint efforts had contributed to better
understanding between the races.
Despite the continued absence of the interracial cooperation that
he hoped to engender, Rosenwald's philanthropy did establish twenty-four black institutions, largely in the northern and western cities to
which subsequent generations of African-Americans would rnigrate.7'
While some African-Americans remained critical of Rosenwald's
philanthropy for its role in perpetuating segregation, members of the
YMCAs built with his support established an annual memorial day in
his honor.79 When Rosenwald died on January 6, 1932, Channing H.
Tobias, the highest-ranking black YMCA official, called him "one of
the greatest friends of the Negro race since Abraham Linc~ln."~
599
Rosenwald's support of black YMCAs was clearly stimulated by
genuine concern for the plight of African-Americans. As a Jew Rosenwald, in common with African-Americans, knew prejudice and discrimination at first-hand. However, compassion was not his only
motivation. Rosenwald's philanthropy was also based on a firm
belief in the American Dream, a belief he shared with African-Americans in the YMCA. He and they were convinced that America provided them with the opportunity to succeed. Jim Crow and
anti-Semitism, while regrettable, were not overwhelming obstacles to
success, but "a grand opportunity to grow strong!"81Thus, the "peculiar alliance" between the Chicago Jew and black Christians was not
peculiar at all. It was rooted in the late nineteenth century's self-help
ideology and Horatio Alger myth.
Regardless of Rosenwald's motives, African-Americans benefitted
from his philanthropy. Excluded from white YMCAs and with no
hope for integration, support from Rosenwald provided them with
the best available facilities. Moreover, with Rosenwald's help AfricanAmericans acquired institutions over which they, and not whites,
exercised control. More useful, perhaps, than an endless debate about
motivation are some observations about the significance of the black
YMCAs by the greatest African-American leader of the time, W. E. B.
Du Bois. In 1925he wrote:
Today there is gradually rising . . . an independent autonomous colored
Y.M.C.A.-national, even international in scope-whose connection with the
white Y.M.C.A. is daily growing less and less, confined more and more to general policies and the rare personal contacts of a few officials?
Whatever his motives or philanthropic peculiarities, Julius Rosenwald helped to create a network of black YMCAs which served
African-Americansin their search for cultural self-determination.
Nina Mjagkij is Assistant Professor of History at Ball State University, Muncie,
Indiana. She is the author of a forthcoming volume, "Lighf in the Darkness": African
Americans and the YMCA, 1852-1946 to be published by the University Press of
Kentucky.
Appendix
Location of Rosenwald YMCAs
1910 Offer
City
Washington
Chicago
Indianapolis
Philadelphia
Kansas City, Mo.
Cincinnati
Brooklyn
Baltimore
St. Louis
Columbus
New York City
Atlanta
Pittsburgh
Branch
12th Street
Wabash Avenue
Senate Avenue
Christian Street
Paseo Department
9th Street
Carlton Avenue
Druid Hill Avenue
Pine Street
Spring Street
135th Street
Butler Street
Centre Avenue
Date Opened
1912
1913
1913
1914
1914
1916
1918
1919
1919
1919
1919
T 920
1923
1920 Offer
City
Denver
Detroit
Los Angeles
Buffalo
Dayton
Montclair, N.J.
Toledo
Dallas
Youngstown
Orange, N.J.
Harrisburg
Branch
Glenarm Branch
St. Antoine
28th Street
Michigan Avenue
5th Street
Washington Street
Indiana Avenue
Moorland
West Federal Street
Oakwood Avenue
Forster Street
Date Opened
1924
1925
1926
1928
1928
1928
1930
1930
1931
1932
1933
Notes
Research for this article was made possible through a New Faculty Research Grant from Ball
State University, an Albert J. Beveridge Grant from the American Historical Association, a Summer Research Fellowship from the University of Cincinnati, and a Research Grant from the Rockefeller Archive Center.
I. For a list of their locations, see the appendix.
2. David Levering Lewis, "Parallels and Divergences: Assimilationist Strategies of AfroAmerican and Jewish Elites from 1910 to the Early 19306, "Journalof American History 71 (December 1984):564
3. For biographical information about Rosenwald, see Pauline K. Angell, "Julius Rosenwald,"
American Jewish Yearbook 34 (1933): 141-176; Morris Robert Werner, Julius Rosenwald: The Life of a
Practical Humanitarian (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1939); Edwin R. Embree and Julia Waxman, Investment in People: The Story of the Julius Rosenwald Fund (New York: Harper & Brothers,
1949); Kathleen Williams Boom, 'The Julius Rosenwald Fund's Aid to Education in the South"
(Ph.D. diss., University of Chicago, 1949); A. Gilbert Belles, "The Julius Rosenwald Fund: Efforts
in Race Relations, 1928-1948" (Ph.D. diss., Vanderbilt University, 1972); Lawrence P. Bachmann,
"Julius Rosenwald," American Jewish History Quarterly 66, no. 1 (1976): 89-105; "Began Career
Here in Clothing Store," New York Times, January 7,1932, p. 18.
4. Belles, "Julius Rosenwald Fund," p. 3.
5. Julius Rosenwald, "Burden of Wealth," Saturday Evening Post, January 5, 1929, p. 136;
Embree and Waxman, Investment in People, p. 13. In accordance with his philosophy, Rosenwald
made no bequests to his grandchildren, arguing that it "is the duty of every man to provide for
his family. . . . As I have provided for my children, I expect them to provide for theirs. If they
don't, their children must suffer the ~~~~~~~~~~~~~r perhaps the benefits-f
their parent's
neglect!' Quoted in Angell, "Julius Rosenwald," pp. 144-145. At the time of his death, Rosenwald's estate was valued at $17,00o,ooo, less than the total of his philanthropic contributions.
Bachrnann, "Julius Rosenwald," p. 99.
6. Rosenwald, "Burden of Wealth," p. 136.
7. Quoted in Werner, Julius Rosenwald, p. 81, and Angell, "Julius Rosenwald," p. 145.
8. Rosenwald, "Burden of Wealth," pp. 12-13,136; Andrew Carnegie, 'Wealth" (June 1889),
in Great Issues in American History: From Reconstruction to the Present Day, 1864-1981, ed. Richard
Hofstadter and Beatrice K. Hofstadter (New York: Vintage Books, 1982), pp. 79-84. For a discussion of Rosenwald's philanthropic philosophy, see Rosenwald, "Principles of Public Giving,"
Atlantic Monthly, May 1929, pp. 599-606; and "A New Chapter in Philanthropy," Whitman College
Quarterly, January 1931, pp. 3-19. Additional information may be obtained from Edwin R.
Embree, "The Business of Giving Away Money,"Harperis Magnzine, August 1930, pp. 32+329; J.
Scott McCormick, "The Julius Rosenwald Fund," Journal of Negro Education, October 1934, pp.
605626; Embree and Waxman, Investment in People; Boom, "Julius Rosenwald Fund's Aid to Education"; Daniel J. Boorstin, "Transforming the Charitable Spirit," in The Julius Rosenwald Centennial (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1962), pp. 5-33; A. Gilbert Belles, 'The College Faculty, the
Negro Scholar, and the Julius Rosenwald Fund," Journal of Negro History 54, no. 4 (1969):383-392;
idem, "Julius Rosenwald Fund"; Kathleen D. McCarthy, Noblesse Oblige: Charity and Cultural Philanthropy in Chicago, 1849-1929 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982), pp. log-111; Thomas
W. Hanchett, 'The Rosenwald Schools and Black Education in North Carolina," North Carolina
Historical Review 65, no. 4 (October 1988): 387-444.
9. Rosenwald, "Burden of Wealth," p. 12.
602
lo. "His Life Philosophy Told in Few Words: 'Success 95% Luck, 5% Ability,' He Said," New
York Times, January 7, 1932, p. 18; Werner, Julius Rosenwald, pp. 86-92; Embree and Waxman,
Investment in People, p. 25; "Burden of Wealth," p. 12.
11. Werner, Julius Rosenwald, p. ix; Embree and Waxman, Investment in People, p. 15; "Known
Gifts of Rosenwald Are Put Above $50,000,000," New York Times, January 7,1932, p. 18.
12. Bachmann, "Julius Rosenwald," p. 95.
13. Ibid.; John G. Brooks, An American Citizen: The Life of William H. Baldwin, Jr. (New York:
Houghton Mifflin,1910); Booker T. Washington, U p From Slavey (New York: Doubleday, 1901);
Werner, Julius Rosenwald, p. 107; Embree and Waxman, Investment in People, p. 25.
14. McCormick, "Julius Rosenwald Fund," p. 606; Werner, Julius Rosenwald, p. ~ g .
15. "Booker T. Washington on the Negro in the American City and His Needs," Association
Men, January 1911, p. 149; Julius Rosenwald to Chicago YMCA, December 30,1910 (Julius Rosenwald Papers [hereafter cited as JR Papers], University of Chicago; microfilm edition, Hebrew
Union College, Cincinnati, reel 85). For a detailed discussion of Washington's philosophy, see
Louis R. Harlan, Booker T . Washington: The Making of a Black Leader, 1856-1901 (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1971) and Booker T . Washington: The Wizard of Tuskegee, 1901-1915 (New York:
Oxford University Press, 1983); August Heier, Negro Thought in America, 1880-1915: Racial Ideologies In the Age of Booker T . Washington (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1963). Rosenwald and Washington did not meet until May 18,1911, when both attended the 53rd Anniversary
celebration of the Chicago YMCA. Fifty-Five Years: The Young Men's Christian Association of Chicago, 1858-1913 (Chicago: YMCA Board of Managers, [1913?]), p. 93. In 1912 Rosenwald became a
trustee of Tuskegee Institute and began his support of rural schoolhouses for African-Americans
in the South. Belles, "Julius Rosenwald F u n d ; Bachmann, "Julius Rosenwald," pp. 101-102.
16. McCormick, "Julius Rosenwald Fund," p. 606.
17. lbid., pp. 605406.
18. lbid., p. 606.
19. Julius Rosenwald Address, January I, 1911, Official Bulletin Supplement, ca. 1911 (Records
Relating to YMCA Work with Blacks, 1891-1979, box 2, # Misc. articles, reports, and historical
,
Archives, University of Minnesota, St. Paul).
statements, 1 9 1 ~ 9 5 0YMCA
20. "They Began New Year Right," Chicago Defender, January 7, 1911, p. I; "A Nation-Wide
Benefaction," Official Bulletin Supplement, ca. 1911, Records Relating to YMCA Work with Blacks,
1891-1979, box 2, # Misc. articles, reports and historical statements, 1910-rg50, YMCA Archives).
21. For the history of the YMCA, see C. Howard Hopkins, Histo y of the Y M C A in North America (New York: Association Press, 1951); for African-Americans in the YMCA, see Nina Mjagkij,
"History of the Black YMCA in America, 1853-1946" (Ph.D. diss., University of Cincinnati, 1990).
22. "Press report of the dedication of the Wabash Avenue YMCA, June 15, 1913" (Jesse E.
Moorland Papers [hereafter cited as JEM Papers], Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Howard
University, Washington, D.C., box 12641, #869).
23. Julius Rosenwald to Chicago YMCA, December 30,1910 UR Papers, reel 85); "To Give the
City Negro a Fair Chance," Association Men, February 1911, p. 199.
24. "A Nation-Wide Benefaction," Official Bulletin Supplement, ca. 1911 (Records Relating to
YMCA Work with Blacks, 1891-1979, box 2, # Misc. articles, reports and historical statements,
1910-1950, YMCA Archives).
25. Booker T. Washington, "Remarkable Triple Alliance: How a Jew Is Helping the Negro
Through the YMCA," Outlook, October 28,1914, p. 485.
26. Jesse S. Moorland, "A Dream Come True," Red Cross Magazine, February 1920, p. 49, Biographical Records, Julius Rosenwald, # 2 (YMCA Archives); Werner, Julius Rosenwald p. 119;
George R. Arthur, Life on the Negro Frontier: A Study of the Objectives and the Success of the Activities
603
Promoted in the Young Men's Christian Associations operating in "Rosenwald Buildings (New York:
Association Press, 1934)~p. 36. For a discussion of Jesse E. Moorland's career in the YMCA, see
Michael R. Winston, "Jesse Edward Moorland," in Dictionary of American Negro Biography, ed.
Rayford W. Logan and Michael R. Winston (New York: Norton., 1982), pp. 448-452; Mjagkij,
"History of the Black YMCA," pp. 1 1 ~ ~ 1 4 6 .
27. L. Wilbur Messer to Jesse E. Moorland, June 11, 1907 (Records Relating to YMCA Work
with Blacks, 1891-1979, box 6, # Colored Work Department-Local, State and Area Relationships,
AK, 191~~1945,
YMCA Archives).
28. Jesse B. Moorland to L. Wilbur Messer, September 16, 1907, p. 5 (Records Relating to
O S , Archives). For studies of
YMCA Work with Blacks, 1891-1979, box 4, # Studies, I ~ ~ O S - ~YMCA
African Americans in Chicago in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, see Allan H.
Spear, Black Chicago: The Making of a Negro Ghetto, 1890-1920 (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1967); and James R. Grossman, Land of Hope: Chicago, Black Southerners, and the Great Migration (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989).
29. Werner, Julius Rosenwald, p. 119; "Memorandum of Conversation between Julius Rosenwald, A. H. Loeb, L. Wilbur Messer, William J. Parker and Jesse B. Moorland" (Biographical
Records, Julius Rosenwald, # 2, YMCA Archives).
30. For a discussion of the struggle of black YMCAs trying to obtain buildings, see Mjagkij,
"History of the Black YMCA," pp. 82-146.
31. Hopkins, History of the YMCA, p. 458, estimates that nineteen black YMCA buildings existed, while J. Max Bond lists twenty-five in his "Manuscript on the Historical Development of the
YMCA among Negroes, 1931," p. 9 (Julius Rosenwald Fund Archives, Fisk University, Nashville,
Tennessee, box 371, # 5). YMCA publications list the number of buildings operated by AfricanAmericans as sixteen, Year Book and Oficial Roster of YMCA of Canada and the United States of North
America, 1910-1911 (New York: Association Press, 1911), pp. 200,264; "For the Good of the Negro
in the City," Association Men, March 1911, pp. 253-254.
32. Channing H. Tobias, "-in the Hearts of Men," Young Men 57 (February 1932): 174; John
D. Rockefeller, Jr., to S. W. Woodward, president of the Washington, D.C., YMCA, September 7,
1906 (Rockefeller Family Archives, Record Group 2, JDR Jr.-Welfare Interests-Youth, box 36, #
YMCA-Washington, D.C., Rockefeller Archive Center, Pocantico Hills, North Tarrytown, N.Y.);
Jesse E. Moorland to L. G. Myers, July 13, 1908 (George Foster Peabody Papers, box 73, #
"YMCA," Columbus, Georgia, [Negro], [ca.1905-igog], Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.).
33. Washington, "Remarkable Triple Alliance," p. 485; Julius Rosenwald to Chicago YMCA,
December 30,1910 (JR Papers, reel 85).
34. "Statement for Mr. Graves" (ca. 1922), p. 1 (Biographical Records, Julius Rosenwald, # 2,
YMCA Archives); Julius Rosenwald, "A Fair Chance for the Colored Men," Association Men, January 1914, P P 192-193.
35. Statement for Mr. Graves," p. I.
36. Julius Rosenwald to Walter Wood, General Secretary, Philadelphia YMCA, October 29,
1913 (JR Papers, reel 85); Julius Rosenwald to Thomas E. Taylor, Secretary, Senate Avenue
Branch, Indianapolis YMCA, June 30,1913 (JRPapers, reel 84).
37. John H. Stanfield, Philanthropy and Jim Crow in American Social Science (Westport, Conn.:
Greenwood Press, 1985), p. 98.
38. "Dedication Chicago Y.M.C.A for Colored Men, 6/15/13. (J.R.)" (JR Papers, reel 85);
Rosenwald, "Fair Chance for the Colored Men," pp. 192-193.
39. Jesse E. Moorland to William C. Graves, February 12, 1915 (Records Relating to YMCA
Work with Blacks, 1891-1979, box 6, # Colored Work Department-Local, State, and Area Associations, TV, 1915-1921 and 194~-1942,YMCA Archives).
604
40. Jesse B. Moorland, "The Young Men's Christian Association Among Negroes," Journal of
Negro History 9 (April 1924):130-131.
41. Julius Rosenwald to Chicago YMCA, December 30, 1910 (JR Papers, reel 85); Chicago
YMCA, Fifty-Five Years, p. 86. A group of African-Americans under the leadership of Ferdinand
Bamett held a first fund-raising meeting in December 1910; Spear, Black Chicago, p. loo.
42. Chicago YMCA, Fifty-Five Years, p. 86; Hopkins, History of the YMCA, p. 458; Spear, Black
Chicago, p. 101.
43. Hopkins, History of the YMCA, p. 458; Washington, "Remarkable Triple Alliance," p. 488;
"Colored People Who Have Made Large Individual Gifts to YMCA Buildings," p. 1 (typewritten
statement, n.d., Records Relating to YMCA Work with Blacks, 1891-1979, box I, # History and
Organization Reports, 1919-1938, YMCA Archives).
4.Washington, "Remarkable Triple Alliance," p. 488.
45. "Y.M.C.A. Colored, Jan. 1911, Letters from friends about the offer" (JR Papers, reel 85);
William Howard Taft to Julius Rosenwald, January 27,1911 (JR Papers, reel 86); William Howard
Taft to L. Wilbur Hesser, January, 9,1911, reprinted in Chicago Defender, January 21,1911, p. 2.
46. "They Began New Year Right," Chicago Defender, January 7, 1911, p. 11 Southern Workman
40 (February 1911): 71; Louis R. Harlan, Raymond W. Smock, and Geraldine McTigue, eds., The
Booker T. Washington Papers, 1911-191.2 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1981), 11:163; Washington, "Remarkable Triple Alliance," p. 485; George Foster Peabody to Julius Rosenwald, January 5,1911 (JR Papers, reel 85).
47. W. E. B. Du Bois, "Y.M.C.A.," Crisis, December 1914, p. 80.
48. Ibid.
49. "The Colored Young Men's Christian Association," Broad Ax, January 28,1911, p. 2.
50. While many African-American communities tried to match Rosenwald's offer, some
African-Americansin Boston, Cleveland, and Detroit opposed the construction of black YMCAs as
"a form of offensive segregation." African-Americans in Boston never applied for Rosenwald
funds, whereas in Detroit and Cleveland opposition to Rosenwald YMCAs decreased throughout
the following decade. In 1925 Detroit opened a black YMCA with Rosenwald's support, and the
following year Cleveland applied for matching funds. However, Cleveland's African-American
populace was unable to raise the necessary funds. This was the result of continued opposition to a
segregated YMCA branch as well as the simultaneous fund-raising activities of the Phyllis Wheatley Association; William C. Graves to Rosenwald, April 19, 1920 (JR Papers, reel 84). For correspondence regarding the Cleveland and Detroit fund-raising campaign, see JR Papers, reel 84.
51. Reprint of editorial in "A Little Lay Sermon on the Negro," Association Men, March 1913,
P. 293.
52. Moorland's salary was paid in part through the building campaigns. He received I percent of the funds raised during the campaign, plus traveling and local entertainment expenses.
Richard C. Morse, "Statement," December lo, 1913 (Records Relating to YMCA Work With
Blacks, 1891-1979, box I, # Policy-Correspondence and Statements, 1913-1941, YMCA
Archives).
53. "Worker's Rules," ca. 1910 (JEM Papers, box 126-58, # 1128). For a discussion of the
YMCA's role in the development of fund-raising in the United States, see Scott M. Cutlip, Fund
Raising in the United States: Its Role in America's Philanthropy (New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1965), pp. 38-53.
54. See appendix. St. Louis conducted a successful campaign before the expiration of Rosenwald's 1910 offer, but the building was not completed until 1919.
55. See appendix.
605
56. "Statement for Mr. Graves," prepared by Jesse B. Moorland, March 20, 1916 (JR Papers,
reel 85).
57. "Report by Mr. J. B. Moorland on the Progress of Colored Work, January 15, 1920 (JR
Papers, reel 85).
58. William C. Graves to Julius Rosenwald, May 2,1920 (JRPapers, reel 86).
59. Ibid.
60. William J. Parker to Julius Rosenwald, March 15,1920 (JR Papers, reel 85).
61. William C. Graves to Julius Rosenwald, May 2,1920 (JR Papers, reel 86).
62. William J. Parker to Julius Rosenwald, March 15,1920 (JR Papers, reel 85).
63. Jesse E. Moorland to William C. Graves, April 30,1920 (JR Papers, reel 85). In 1910,89 percent of all African-Americans lived in the South. Daniel 0. Price, Characteristicsof the Negro Population (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1969), p. 9.
64. For correspondence concerning Jacksonville, Florida, see JR Papers, reel 84; and for
Nashville and New Orleans, JR Papers, reel 85.
65. Jesse E. Moorland to William C. Graves, April 23,1920, and Jesse B. Moorland to L. Wilbur
Messer, April 23,1920 (JR Papers, reel 85).
66. Moorland suggested a $15,000 donation from Rosenwald for every $35,000 raised locally.
"New Proposition to be submitted to Mr. Rosenwald," n.d. (JR Papers, reel 85).
67. Julius Rosenwald to Chicago YMCA, July 6,1920 (JR Papers, reel 85).
68. Year Book and Official Roster of the Young Men's Christian Association of Canada and the United
States of America for the Year 1921 (New York: Association Press, 1921), p. 16.
69. The Emerson Street branch in Evanston, Illinois, is frequently listed as a Rosenwald
YMCA, although it was not subjected to the conditions of the second offer. Rosenwald's donations, totaling $12,000, were personal contributions designed to help liquidate the debt of the
branch. For correspondence concerning the black YMCA in Evanston, see JR Papers, reel 84.
70. See appendix.
71. Werner, Julius Rosenwald, p. 120.
72. Statement by Jesse E. Moorland for William C. Graves, ca. March 20,1919, p. 2 (JR Papers,
reel 85).
73. Arthur, Life on the Negro Frontier, p. 96, gives a membership of 19,296 for the year 1933.
74. 'Washington's Modem Building for Colored Men," Association Men, January 1913, p. 203.
75. African-Americans contributed 14 percent, local whites 48 percent, and Rosenwald 21 percent to the black branches. The remainder of the funds came from other sources outside the communities. William C. Graves to Julius Rosenwald, March 20,1920 (JRPapers, reel 85).
76. Southern Workman 43 (January 1914): 6.
77. "Dedication Chicago Y.M.C.A. for Colored Men, 6/15/13. (J,R.)."
78. See appendix.
79. Nezu York Times, April 8, 1928, sec. 11, p. I.
80. Channing H. Tobias, "Address Delivered in Honor of the Memory of Julius Rosenwald
over Station WEAF of New York and Broadcast over the NBS Network during the 'Southland
Sketches' Hour," February 7,1932 (JEMPapers, box 126-41, #871).
81. "Dedication Chicago Y.M.C.A. for Colored Men, 6/15/13. (J.R.)."
82. W. E. B. Du Bois, "The Y.M.C.A.," Crisis, November 1925, p. 11.

Julius Rosenwald, the YMCA, and African

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