DePorres Club
Encyclopedia
The DePorres Club was an early pioneer organization in the Civil Rights Movement in Omaha, Nebraska
, whose "goals and tactics foreshadowed the efforts of civil rights
activists throughout the nation in the 1960s." The club was an affiliate of CORE
.
. The club’s early mission was to improve interracial relations on the Creighton campus. Their patron, Martin de Porres
, a Peru
vian of mixed ancestry, was canonized
by the Catholic Church in 1962. Within a year DePorres extended their reach, working to challenge the history of racism through Omaha
. According to club member and eventual founder of the Great Plains Black History Museum
Bertha Calloway
, the organization deliberately targeted Reid’s Ice Cream, the Coca-Cola bottling plant at 3200 North 30th Street, Dignotti’s Doughnut Shop, Harry’s Tea Club, the Greyhound Bus station, the Hotel Fontenelle
, the Paxton Hotel
, and Eppley Air Field for not hiring black workers.
The group met at Creighton until it became too controversial and was asked to move off campus. Omaha Star
publisher and community ally Mildred Brown
volunteered the newspaper's office for the club after Creighton kicked them off campus. In 1948 a group of 30 members of the DePorres Club participated in the club's first sit-in at a restaurant by the Douglas County Courthouse
in Downtown Omaha
. When the group arrived the owner told them that white customers would stop coming into the restaurant if blacks were served; in response, the group stayed until the owner agreed to allow African American patrons. The Club also called for a general boycott against the Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway Company for their segregation practices and poor service to the Near North Side neighborhood
four years before the Montgomery Bus Boycott
.
Aside from its activism, the club regularly held other activities, as well. They staged events to raise funds, had their own dances and picnics. They painted houses for poor families and stuffed acres of envelopes.
In the following years the club hosted a community center called the Omaha DePorres Center to meet the needs of low-income families, and eventually started branches in Denver and Kansas City.
Civil rights movement in Omaha, Nebraska
The Civil rights movement in Omaha, Nebraska has roots that extend back until at least 1912. With a history of racial tension that starts before the founding of the city, Omaha has been the home of numerous overt efforts related to securing civil rights for African Americans since at least the...
, whose "goals and tactics foreshadowed the efforts of civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
activists throughout the nation in the 1960s." The club was an affiliate of CORE
Congress of Racial Equality
The Congress of Racial Equality or CORE was a U.S. civil rights organization that originally played a pivotal role for African-Americans in the Civil Rights Movement...
.
History
The DePorres Club was formed in 1947 by a group of African American high school students and white college students who worked with Rev. John Markoe of Creighton UniversityCreighton University
Creighton University is a private, coeducational, Jesuit, Roman Catholic university located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the school is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. The university is accredited by...
. The club’s early mission was to improve interracial relations on the Creighton campus. Their patron, Martin de Porres
Martin de Porres
Martin de Porres was a lay brother of the Dominican Order who was beatified in 1837 by Pope Gregory XVI and canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII. He is the patron saint of mixed-race people and all those seeking interracial harmony.He was noted for work on behalf of the poor, establishing an...
, a Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian of mixed ancestry, was canonized
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
by the Catholic Church in 1962. Within a year DePorres extended their reach, working to challenge the history of racism through Omaha
Timeline of racial tension in Omaha, Nebraska
The timeline of racial tension in Omaha, Nebraska lists events in African-American history in Omaha. These included racial violence, but also include many firsts as the African- American community built its institutions. Omaha has been a major industrial city on the edge of what was a rural,...
. According to club member and eventual founder of the Great Plains Black History Museum
Great Plains Black History Museum
The Great Plains Black History Museum is located at 2213 Lake Street in the Near North Side neighborhood in North Omaha, Nebraska. It is housed in the Webster Telephone Exchange Building, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places...
Bertha Calloway
Bertha Calloway
Bertha Calloway is an African-American community activist and historian in North Omaha, Nebraska. The founder of the Negro History Society and the Great Plains Black History Museum, Calloway won awards from several organizations for her activism in the community and Nebraska...
, the organization deliberately targeted Reid’s Ice Cream, the Coca-Cola bottling plant at 3200 North 30th Street, Dignotti’s Doughnut Shop, Harry’s Tea Club, the Greyhound Bus station, the Hotel Fontenelle
Hotel Fontenelle
Hotel Fontenelle was an upscale commercial hotel once located at 1806 Douglas Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Designed by noted architect Thomas Rogers Kimball in the Late Gothic Revival style, it was built in 1914 and demolished in 1983...
, the Paxton Hotel
Paxton Hotel
The Paxton Hotel, formerly known as Paxton Manor and currently known as The Paxton, is located at 1403 Farnam Street in Downtown Omaha, Nebraska, USA. Designed by local architect Joseph G. McArthur, the current building was constructed in 1928, with its predecessor dating from 1882. Named for local...
, and Eppley Air Field for not hiring black workers.
The group met at Creighton until it became too controversial and was asked to move off campus. Omaha Star
Omaha Star
The Omaha Star is a newspaper founded in 1938 in North Omaha, Nebraska by Mildred Brown and her husband S. Edward Gilbert. Housed in the historic Omaha Star building in the Near North Side neighborhood, today the Omaha Star is the only remaining African-American newspaper in Omaha and the only one...
publisher and community ally Mildred Brown
Mildred Brown
Mildred Brown was an African American journalist, newspaper publisher, and leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Omaha, Nebraska. Part of the Great Migration, she came from Alabama via Chicago and Des Moines, Iowa...
volunteered the newspaper's office for the club after Creighton kicked them off campus. In 1948 a group of 30 members of the DePorres Club participated in the club's first sit-in at a restaurant by the Douglas County Courthouse
Douglas County Courthouse (Omaha)
The present Douglas County Courthouse is located at 1701 Farnam Street in Omaha, Nebraska. Built in 1912, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Notable events at the courthouse include two lynchings and the city's first Civil Rights Era sit-in protest...
in Downtown Omaha
Downtown Omaha
Downtown Omaha is the central business, government and social core of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area, and is located in Omaha, Nebraska. The boundaries are 20th Street on the west to the Missouri River on the east and the centerline of Leavenworth Street on the south to the centerline...
. When the group arrived the owner told them that white customers would stop coming into the restaurant if blacks were served; in response, the group stayed until the owner agreed to allow African American patrons. The Club also called for a general boycott against the Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway Company for their segregation practices and poor service to the Near North Side neighborhood
Near North Side (Omaha, Nebraska)
The Near North Side of Omaha, Nebraska is the neighborhood immediately north of downtown. It forms the nucleus of the city's African-American community, and its name is often synonymous with the entire North Omaha area...
four years before the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a political and social protest campaign that started in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, USA, intended to oppose the city's policy of racial segregation on its public transit system. Many important figures in the civil rights movement were involved in the boycott,...
.
Aside from its activism, the club regularly held other activities, as well. They staged events to raise funds, had their own dances and picnics. They painted houses for poor families and stuffed acres of envelopes.
In the following years the club hosted a community center called the Omaha DePorres Center to meet the needs of low-income families, and eventually started branches in Denver and Kansas City.
See also
- Timeline of the civil rights movement in Omaha, Nebraska
- History of North Omaha, NebraskaHistory of North Omaha, NebraskaThe history of North Omaha, Nebraska includes wildcat banks, ethnic enclaves, race riots and social change spanning over 200 years. With a recorded history that pre-dates the rest of the city, North Omaha has roots back to 1812 with the founding of Fort Lisa...
- History of Omaha, NebraskaHistory of Omaha, NebraskaThe history of Omaha, Nebraska began before the settlement of the city, with speculators from neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa staking land across the Missouri River illegally as early as the 1840s. Before it was legal to claim land in Indian Country, William D. Brown was operating the Lone Tree...