From the nineteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries, millions of Americans participated in fraternal associations - self-selecting brotherhoods and sisterhoods that provided aid to members, enacted group rituals, and engaged in community service. This book shows how African American groups played key roles in the struggle for civil rights.

List of Illustrations vii List of Tables ix Preface xi CHAPTER ONE: African American Fraternalism: A Missing Chapter in the Story of U.S. Civic Democracy 1 CHAPTER TWO: The Panorama of African American Fraternal Federations with the assistance of Jennifer Lynn Oser 21 CHAPTER THREE: African American Fraternals as Schools for Democracy 61 CHAPTER FOUR: Proprietors, Helpmates, and Pilgrims in Black and White Fraternal Rituals by Bayliss Camp and Orit Kent 95 CHAPTER FIVE: Defending the Legal Right to Organize 135 CHAPTER SIX: Black Fraternalists and the Mid-Twentieth-Century Movement for Civil Rights 174 CHAPTER SEVEN: The Achievements of African American Fraternalism 214 Notes 229 References 265 Index 283

"I count myself as reasonably knowledgeable of black history, but I was almost entirely ignorant of the African American fraternal tradition and its surprising links to the broader freedom struggle. So what a joy it was to read this book. In resurrecting the history of this submerged tradition, the authors have performed a valuable service for all of us interested in the organizational experience of African Americans."—Douglas McAdam, Stanford University

"Long before the twentieth-century Civil Rights movement, the fraternal and sororal organizations of the black community created and recreated sacred spaces of community solidarity and civic courage in the best spirit of American democracy. The authors convert this little-known story into an important chapter of the history of the United States."—Lani Guinier, Harvard Law School

"This valuable study enriches our understanding of the rich fraternal tradition among blacks—alongside those of other Americans—and helps us envision the civic foundations for new efforts to deepen American democracy."—Cornel West, Princeton University, author of Democracy Matters and coauthor of The African-American Century

"This book will instantly become a standard work and the basis for new research by other scholars in a variety of disciplines."—David Fahey, Miami University of Ohio

"An extraordinary work of historical reconstruction. Skocpol, Liazos, and Ganz have mounted a powerful argument, based on a remarkable collection of data, about the importance for American democracy of the rise, decline, and structure of African American civic membership associations."—Robert C. Lieberman, Columbia University, author of Shaping Race Policy

I count myself as reasonably knowledgeable of black history, but I was almost entirely ignorant of the African American fraternal tradition and its surprising links to the broader freedom struggle. So what a joy it was to read this book. In resurrecting the history of this submerged tradition, the authors have performed a valuable service for all of us interested in the organizational experience of African Americans. -- Douglas McAdam, Stanford University Long before the twentieth-century Civil Rights movement, the fraternal and sororal organizations of the black community created and recreated sacred spaces of community solidarity and civic courage in the best spirit of American democracy. The authors convert this little-known story into an important chapter of the history of the United States. -- Lani Guinier, Harvard Law School This valuable study enriches our understanding of the rich fraternal tradition among blacks--alongside those of other Americans--and helps us envision the civic foundations for new efforts to deepen American democracy. -- Cornel West, Princeton University, author of "Democracy Matters" and coauthor of "The African-American Century" This book will instantly become a standard work and the basis for new research by other scholars in a variety of disciplines. -- David Fahey, Miami University of Ohio An extraordinary work of historical reconstruction. Skocpol, Liazos, and Ganz have mounted a powerful argument, based on a remarkable collection of data, about the importance for American democracy of the rise, decline, and structure of African American civic membership associations. -- Robert C. Lieberman, Columbia University, author of "Shaping Race Policy"