Reveille Club of New York collection

1953-2013

The Reveille Club was founded in 1932 by African American war veterans in order to celebrate and recognize each other's accomplishments. The main criteria of membership was friendship. According to the group's certificate of incorporation of 1953, the purposes of the Club were to "bring together persons of good moral character with similar intellectual and social aspirations"; "countenance and promote among its members, from all walks of life, faith in one another...fulfill the desire to meet as a group..."; and "maintain a club house". The directors of the Club in 1953 were Ira L. Aldridge, Chauncey M. Hooper, and Wilmer F. Lucas. An annual gala honored various individuals including Adam Clayton Powell, Joe Lewis, Kenneth Clark, Ralph Bunche, William Hastie, Thurgood Marshall, A. Phillip Randolph, Marion Anderson, Whitney Young, Clifford Alexander Jr., Ralph Ellison, Muriel Petioni, C. Virginia Fields, and many others. This collections consists of administrative and historical material, including a constitution, bylaws, membership handbooks, and historical scrapbook highlighting various members. In addition, there is a large amount of printed matter, mainly magazine articles, various programs, and business directories, which focuses on Black individuals, organizations, and events.