DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. September 8, 1902. Houston, Texas.
Twelve women of the city's elite Black society sat down together and decided that wasn't enough — that the community around them needed tending, and they were the ones to do it. They called what they built the Married Ladies Social, Art and Charity Club, and friend, that name says exactly what it means. The first president was Nannie Murray, and alongside her stood the other eleven charter members: Mrs.
E.A. Hogan; Lilla Love, whose husband Charles N. Love was Houston's first African-American newspaper publisher; Melissa A.
Price; Venora Bell; Chloe Woods; Effie Collins; Lula Anderson; Jennie Clarke; Eliza Scott; Luella Walker; and Mary Crawford. Twelve women. One mission: improve the social welfare of their members and the community they called home.
Now, this wasn't a loose arrangement. Membership was capped at fifty-two married women, and every one of them was required to live up to the club's moral, social, and spiritual ideals. They met twice a month, rotating through each other's homes, which means somebody's parlor was always getting tidied up in a hurry.
In those early years, members decorated floats for Juneteenth parades — a celebration of freedom, dressed up and rolled through the streets. And when the Fifth Ward fire of 1912 tore through and left people devastated, the club was there, aiding victims, because that is what you do when your whole purpose is the community's welfare. Here is a thing the marker tells that I want you to sit with for a moment.
Because of Jim Crow laws, distinguished Black visitors coming to Houston could not stay in the city's hotels. The club's members opened their doors and offered lodging. Think about what that means — these women turned their private homes into a refuge for people the law had deliberately shut out.
No fanfare. Just dignity, offered quietly and with purpose. Through the decades, the club kept movin'.
Donations. Goods for the needy. Aid for battered women.
A scholarship program. Noted members came to include civic leader and social justice advocate Jennie Covington, and civil rights activist Christia Adair — women whose names echo well beyond one organization. In 1953, the club moved into their first dedicated clubhouse over on Berry Avenue — 1902 Berry Avenue, to be precise.
And in 1967, they purchased a new clubhouse at 1814 Southmore Boulevard. More than a hundred years after twelve women gathered to make something out of conviction, the Married Ladies Social, Art and Charity Club of America, Inc. is still standing, still working, still pushin' forward through charitable, educational, and social services to the community. Started with twelve.
Still going. That right there is a Texas story worth the tellin'.
What the marker says
In the early 20th century, many Black women became progressive leaders, investing themselves in social activities through clubs. On September 8, 1902, twelve ladies of Houston’s elite Black society founded the Married Ladies Social, Art and Charity Club to improve the social welfare of its members and the community. The charter members included Nannie Murray, the club’s first president; Mrs. E.A. Hogan; Lilla Love, wife of Houston’s first African-American newspaper publisher, Charles N. Love; Melissa A. Price; Venora Bell; Chloe Woods; Effie Collins; Lula Anderson; Jennie Clarke; Eliza Scott; Luella Walker; and Mary Crawford. The club originally met twice a month in members’ homes. Membership was limited to 52 married women who were required to live up to the club’s moral, social and spiritual ideals. Early activities included decorating floats for Juneteenth parades and aiding victims of the devastating Fifth Ward fire of 1912. Through the years, the club has made donations, provided goods for the needy, aided battered women and operated a scholarship program. Members also offered lodging for distinguished Black visitors who were unable to stay in hotels due to Jim Crow laws. The club began to meet at their first clubhouse (1902 Berry Avenue) in 1953. In 1967, members purchased a new clubhouse at 1814 Southmore Boulevard. Noted members have included civic leader and social justice advocate Jennie Covington and civil rights activist Christia Adair. Today, the Married Ladies Social, Art and Charity Club of America, Inc. continues its mission of change through charitable, educational and social services to the community. (2010)