| The Links, Incorporated | |
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LINKS
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| Founded | November 9, 1946 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Type | Social |
| Scope | International United States, Germany, Bahamas, South Africa |
| Motto | We're each a Link in friendship's chain. [1] |
| Colors | Green and White |
| Symbol | Chain |
| Flower | White Rose [2] |
| Chapters | 247 |
| Headquarters | Washington, District of Columbia, USA |
| Homepage | The Links, Incorporated website |
The Links, Incorporated is an exclusive non-profit organization based upon the ideals of combining friendship and community service. The organization was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 9, 1946, from a group of ladies known as the Philadelphia Club to focus on civic, cultural, and educational endeavors.[3] The organization was formally incorporated five years later, in 1951.[4]
Links, Incorporated consists primarily of professional African-American women. Membership is extended to candidates nominated and approved by currently active Link members. In addition, membership is also extended to daughters of active Link members, who are called "Heir-O-Links."[5] For example, ninth National Link President, Regina Jollivette Frazier, was the first "Heir-O-Link" president in 1986.[5] Currently, the Links, Incorporated, has over 10,000 members and 274 chapters internationally, including Germany, South Africa and the Bahamas.[6][7] The Links, Incorporated celebrated their sixtieth anniversary on November 9, 2006. In honor of the achievement, commemorative medals were issued to celebrate the organization's achievements.[8]
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Within the organization, the Links, Incorporated's overall goals are to:[4]
The Links, Incorporated focuses primarily on four strategic areas of interest ("facets"):
In 1946, two homemakers, Sarah Strickland-Scott and Margaret Rosell Hawkins, had a vision to found a club for colored women which would aim to enrich the community through education and the arts.[12] As a result, on November 9, 1946, Scott and Hawkins formed the Philadelphia Club.
During its early years, meetings were held in members' homes. If a meeting was held in a member's home, she would have to serve as hostess. The Philadelphia Club was limited to fourteen members, and if a member missed a meeting, her membership would be revoked.[13] Meetings were held monthly, and dues were fifty cents per month (2005 value of $5.00,[14] according to the Consumer Price Index). Most of the Link members were also members of Jack-and-Jill, an organization for African-American mothers with young children, (now known as Jack-and Jill of America) and sought to expand the Links organization to other cities. Potential members were invited by members of the original Philadelphia Club through relatives, acquaintances, or via membership through other organizations such as the National Medical Association, the National Dental Association, the Urban League, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Two home-makers are credited with the group's foundation:[3]
The seven original members of the club were:[3]
Before the incorporation of The Philadelphia Club, fourteen chapters were established between 1947 to 1949, which are shown below:
| Order | Location | Date | Charter Members |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st [15] | Atlantic City, New Jersey | February 28, 1947 | Leonore S. Garland, Carrie Esters, Emily Fowler, Anna Freeman, Helen Hoxter, Sara Washington-Logan, Louise Martin, Omega Mason, Edythe Marshall, Viola Murray, Isabelle Scott, and Myrtle Usry |
| 2nd | Washington, D.C. | Late April 1947 | Bernice Thomas, Ruth Young, Vasti Cook, Katie Harris, Anne Cook-Reid, and Eula Trigg |
| 3rd | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 1948 | Jessie M. Vann, Daisy Lampkin, Jewel Blow, Lillian Brown, Betty Butler, Gladys Curtis, Lucille Cuthbert, Kathleen Douglass, Gertrude Holmes, Harriet Lewis-Jamerson, Rachael Lewis, Corinne Lindsay, Winifred Moss, Carolyn Stevenson, and Esther Summers |
| 4th [16] | St. Louis, Missouri | February 20, 1948 | Blanche Sinkler, Joy Blacke, Orlie Carpenter, Mary Evans, Charlotte Ford, Anna Lee Scott, and Alice Harding. |
| 5th | Petersburg, Virginia | May 1948 | Eunice Brown-Robbins, Cleopatara Armstrong, Ruth Baker, Gladys Bland, Alma Brown, Marietta Cephas, Gladys Green, Evelyn Jenkins, Josephine Jones, Uarda Parnell, Susie Verdell, Adelaid White, Helen Williams, and Virginia Williams |
| 6th | Wilmington, Delaware | June 1948 | Beulah Anderson, Edith Barton, Alice Brown, Grace Goens, Lorraine Hamilton, Ann Harris, Marjorie Hopkins, Marjorie Jackson, Sarajane Hunt, Rozelia O'Neal, Elizabeth Parker, and Sara Taylor |
| 7th | Baltimore, Maryland | September 1948 | Audrey Norris, Etta Phifer, Theresa Weaver, Mae Adams, Catherine Adams, Helen Burwell, Beatrice Butler, Marie Hicks, Pauline Watts, Lillian Berry, Pearl Pennington, Xaveria McDonald, and Florence Gloster |
| 8th | Rocky Mount, North Carolina (Wilson, Rocky Mount, and Tarboro) | April 18, 1949 | Esmerelda Rich-Hawkins, Ann Armstrong, Nan Delany-Johnson, Marguerite Armstrong, Sally Armstrong, Grace Artis, Addie Butterfield, Norma Darden, Vera Esmeralda Hawkins, Vera Shade Green, Ethel Hines, Jessie Pash, Helen Quigless, and Jennie Taylor |
| 9th | Princeton, New Jersey (Central New Jersey) | May 1949 | Madeline Broaddus, Lottie Lee-Dinkins, Claudine Lewis, Bernice Munce, Christine Howell, Louise Granger, Eddye Mae Shivery, and Augusta Smith |
| 10th | Dayton, Ohio | May 28, 1949 | Lillian Taylor, Melissa Bess, Hortense Campbell, Beatrice Darnell, Viola Finley, Remitha Ford, Bessie Jones, Ruth Lewis, Cora Peters, Margaret Robinson, Letitia Rose, Ruth Smith, Lucie Taylor, and Louise Wesley |
| 11th [17] | Harlem/New York City, New York (Greater New York) | May 1949 | Dorothy Reed, Bernia Austin, Myrtle Howard, Estelle Jarrott, Ethel Lowry, Emilie Pickins, Mable Trent, and Marie Vidal |
| 12th | North New Jersey | June 1949 | Lillian Alexander, Fannie Curtis, Mamie Jean-Darden, Elizabeth Ghee, Margurite Gross, Bessie Hill, Alvan Martin, Ella McLean, Gertrude Norris, Gladys Shirley, and Mildred Morris-Williams |
| 13th | Raleigh, North Carolina | June 1949 | Julia Delany, Blanche Daniels, Ruby Fisher, Amelia Hamlin, Ernestine Hamlin, Gertrude Harris, Nannie Inborden, Willie Kay, Mamie McCauley, Louise McClennan, Louise Perrin, Mildred Taylor, Geraldine Trigg, and Marguerite White |
While the Raleigh chapter was founded, the group decided to nationalize. During June 1949, delegates, one representing each of the thirteen daughter chapters, met with the original members of the Philadelphia Club in Philadelphia to discuss incorporating the society and to showcase the involvement of each chapter. After the members decided to rename the group, The Links, Incorporated, one of the founders — Sarah Strickland-Scott was named as the first president.[17] The organization was incorporated on March 28, 1951.[18]
Several members of The Links, Incorporated, are also members of the four National Pan-Hellenic Council Sororities (mainly Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, and Delta Sigma Theta sorority). For example: Link Founder Sarah Strickland Scott was a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority
Almost forty years after The Links's founding in Philadelphia, the Links's National President Dolly Adams honored the five living founding members of the Philadelphia Club in their home city during the 24th National Assembly,
| “ | We will strive to love each other as you have loved us, and keep The Links' chain of friend-ship ever flourishing and expanding. We thank you for your vision, wisdom, guidance, and abundant talent unselfishly shared with all Linkdom.[13] | ” |
The exclusiveness of the Links organization, as well as its selection process, helped to shape the importance and impact of each member's involvement. Most Link members are involved with professions relating to business, education, law, politics, military, government, medicine, and entertainment. For example, current Links President Gwendolyn B. Lee proclaimed December 7, 2006 a day for NASA STS-116 astronaut and fellow Link Joan Higginbotham.[21]
To date, The Links, Incorporated, has had fourteen National Presidents, each of whom (except one) served (or serves) a four-year term. Each National President is selected by her peers and must have fulfilled certain guidelines outlined by the organization before running for the position.
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Note: The History of The Links, Incorporated, ends the listing of the national assemblies in 1982. Also, each national assembly was held annually, until 1960, when conventions were held bi-annually.
In Link-to-Link (the organization's official newsletter), Link member Edith Hammond revealed a U.S. postal stamp during the organization's thirty-fifth convention on June 28, 2006. The stamp, entitled "Touching Tomorrow Today," marked the sixtieth anniversary of The Links, Incorporated. The illustration of the stamp shows the Links' national headquarters in Washington, D.C. The stamp is the first and only stamp honoring an African-American organization. The side inscription reads the following:
| “ | This new "PC Postage" stamp commemorates 60 years of service through friendship by The Links, Incorporated, a not-for-profit organization of more than 10,500 women of color committed to enriching, sustaining, and ensuring the culture and economic survival of children and families of African ancestry by focusing on service to the community.[25] | ” |
Hammond, also the designer of the stamp, revealed, "[the stamp] was an honor to create a living legacy."[25]
Through the implementation of the "Central Area HBCU Fund," scholarship funds were donated to historically black college and universities. The endeavor began in 2005 and assisted fourteen institutions. The largest endowed gift made by the Links was $100,000 donated to Fisk University. Shown are below are the fourteen colleges which received endowment:[26]
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