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Guide to the Leisure Arts Club Scrapbook
MS 12
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Title: Leisure Arts Club scrapbook
Dates: 1941-1975
Collection number: MS 12
Creator:
Leisure Arts Club
Collection Size:
.2 linear feet
(1 oversized volume)
Repository:
African American Museum and Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)
Oakland, CA 94612
Abstract: The Leisure Arts Club was founded on January 31, 1941 at the home of Althea Clark. Its
purpose, as outlined in its constitution, was
to develop self culture, to study the arts, to do
charitable work, and to cooperate with groups interested in racial betterment.
The collection consists of one scrapbook which documents the club's activities
between 1941 and 1962. It includes a copy of the club's constitution and by-laws, as ratified in 1947,
as well as minutes from the first few meetings after its formation in 1941. In addition, the scrapbook
encompasses guest registers and invitations, correspondence, clippings, and programs documenting
the club's work with charities, its musical and social events, and its affiliation with the California
State Association of Colored Women's Clubs.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
No access restrictions. Collection is open to the public.
Materials are for use in-library only, non-circulating.
Permission to publish from the Leisure Arts Club scrapbook must be obtained from the African American Museum and Library at
Oakland.
Leisure Arts Club scrapbook, MS 12, African American Museum and Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.
This scrapbook was donated to the East Bay Negro Historical Society. The scrapbook was probably donated by Ruth Lasartemay,
an active member of the Leisure Arts Club.
Processed by Marianne Carden, 07/08/1995. Finding aid updated by Sean Heyliger, 01/16/2013.
Biography / Administrative History
The Leisure Arts Club was founded on January 31, 1941 at the home of Althea Clark. Its
purpose, as outlined in its constitution, was
to develop self culture, to study the arts, to do
charitable work, and to cooperate with groups interested in racial betterment.
The club's charter
members were Audrey Page, Althea Clark, Le Count Clark, Grace Temple, Ruth Meadows,
Ruth Lasartemay, Gradella Manuel, and Marion Perrilliat. Its first officers were Althea Clark,
President; Grace Temple, Vice-President; Ruth Meadows, Secretary; and Le Count Clark, Treasurer.
The club joined the California State Association of Colored Women's Clubs on June 12,1941.
In an effort to meet its stated goals, the club organized musical events, organized fundraisers
for charities, and donated funds to the NAACP. Among its charitable activities numbered a layette
sewing project for the Alameda County Welfare Project, preparation of Thanksgiving baskets, linen
showers for the Fannie Wall Children's Home and Day Nursery, and the organization of picnics for
servicemen during World War II. The club promoted better race relations through participation in
the NAACP and in Race Relations Sunday Services at Taylor Memorial Methodist Church. In
addition, the club supported the arts through sponsoring musical lectures and concerts. The club also organized many social
events for its members and friends, such as Shamrock Teas,
Harvest Parties and Hobby Shows.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection consists of one scrapbook which documents the club's activities
between 1941 and 1962. It includes a copy of the club's constitution and by-laws, as ratified in 1947,
as well as minutes from the first few meetings after its formation in 1941. In addition, the scrapbook
encompasses guest registers and invitations, correspondence, clippings, and programs documenting
the club's work with charities, its musical and social events, and its affiliation with the California
State Association of Colored Women's Clubs. Two photos document the members in 1957 and 1959
and several obituaries at the end of the scrapbook record the deaths of several founding members in
the 1960s and 1970s.
Series I. Scrapbook
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Leisure Arts Club.
African American women--Societies and clubs.
African Americans--Societies, etc.
African Americans--California--Oakland--Societies, etc.
Colored Women's Clubs Association Collection, MS 1, African American Museum and Library at Oakland.