The Culture Club, a Portland, Oregon African American women’s community organization, was founded in 1924 and continued as an active organization through the 1970s. Throughout its existence, the Culture Club engaged in such activities as the raising and allocation of scholarship funds and charitable donations, planning events such as social teas and dances, and working with other organizations such as the Urban League and the Oregon Association of Colored Women’s Clubs to promote social causes to strengthen the vibrancy of Portland African American community life. The Club’s motto, “To Labor Is a Pleasure”, encapsulates its members’ emphasis on combining extensive efforts toward community uplift with the social elements of a women’s social club.
This collection of yearbooks, stretching from 1937 through 1968, contains information such as the club motto, yearly themes, scholarship awards, meeting dates, member names, and past president lists. The club followed an academic style calendar, in which a session stretched from fall through spring and took a recess from June to September, and year books were issued at the close of each annual session. A number of books are annotated by Verdell Burdine Rutherford, a core member of the organization who served in a number of positions in the Culture Club, including president and secretary. Her annotations include changed member information, membership numbers, notes and suggestions.
For additional information on this collection, please see the Finding Aid