Scope and arrangement
The collection, dated 1930 to 2015 (bulk dates, 1970-1990), documents the Northeasterners, Inc., a social organization for African-American women through certificates, clippings, correspondence, ephemera, minutes, photographs, printed matter, scrapbooks, artifacts, and audio visual material.
The records are arranged in two main sections: the national organization and the local chapters. The national organization records hold its administrative files, executive committee reports, minutes, financial information, roll calls and reports from the chapters. These records also include files about the installation of the city chapters, the national song and the national prayer, brochures celebrating the Northeasterners anniversaries, drawings for a national bracelet, the Northeasterners history, newspaper clippings about the organization and members, official proclamations, and brochures celebrating their 10th and 25th anniversaries, and the publications the Gay Echoes, the Gay News and the National Newsletter.
Local Chapter files represent the cities of Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Columbus, Detroit, Indianapolis, New York, Pittsburgh, Washington, D.C. and the state of New Jersey. New York City, Detroit, and the state of New Jersey generated the most material consisting of correspondence, files about the annual convention, application for membership, installation of the chapters, photographs, resumes, and rosters of members.
The New York Chapter holds the files of the corresponding secretary, representative of several secretaries who served in this position and includes the rosters of New York members; and files concerning the history committee, national meetings, projects and programs, memorials of members and national correspondence to chapters.
Vivian D. Hewitt's work on behalf of the Northeasterners is documented through her correspondence with the chapters as one of the corresponding secretaries and also as the historian and liaison for the organization.
The scrapbooks or memory books of the local chapters include the local constitution, activities, photographs of the members; installation of the chapter; report of activities; newspaper clippings, and ephemera. One of the scrapbooks of interest is about the original three chapters, located in New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
Photographs of the members are located throughout the collection. There are several oversize photographs taken at the annual conventions.
The artifacts include a corsage and flower badges, lapel pin, name tags, table runner, and several tote bags of various sizes.
The audiovisual material consists of several audio and video recordings of chapter meetings in Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, New Jersey and Philadelphia.