CREDJAFAWN SOCIAL CLUB:

The Credjafawn Social Club is one of the oldest Black social clubs still functioning in the Twin Cities Black community. It was formed one evening in 1928 by ten young adults who sensed the lack of social activities for persons in their age bracket. The name was devised from a letter out of each of the names of the ten charter members.

Although conceived as a social/recreational club, the Credjafawns initiated some outstanding projects of importance for the Black community. During the years of World War II they began a cooperative food outlet. This store allowed their membership and the Black community to purchase foodstuffs at lower prices. Later this endeavor folded because of competition generated by the new concept of supermarkets. They also initiated the Credjafawn Credit Union. The credit union was established to provide low interest loans to club members, who, more oftentimes than not, were young with families. During times when white credit unions would refuse to grant loans to Blacks, the Credjafawn Credit Union provided resources for home improvements and college educations. In addition, the club regularly provided scholarship money for the deserving and scholastically excellent students.

The Credjafawns were also responsible for integrating some of the hotels and other facilities which refused to allow Blacks the use of their accommodations for dances and other social fetes. By sending members of the club who were light enough to pass for white to negotiate contracts, many facilities were thus integrated.

The Credjafawn Social Club Papers are important for two reasons. First, they are the only complete record of a social club in the Twin Cities for almost fifty years. Second, these papers demonstrate the inner workings of an organization dedicated to social betterment and upgrading of the Black community.

Historical data was provided by David Taylor, Director, Black History Project (1974).

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The microfilmed records of the Credjafawn Social Club consist primarily of minutes of club meetings and reports and other records of the officers and committees. There are also officer, committee, and membership lists; correspondence and miscellaneous papers; invitations and notices for club social events; greetings from members; and a few personal papers of John R. Lawrence, a club founder and president. The bulk of the papers deal with the operation of the club with respect to its social activities, although there are some materials which reflect its participation in civic affairs, such as civil rights and "charitable" organizations and causes. There are also some financial records for the Credjafawn Credit Union.

The original records (1928-1946) include some correspondence, a membership roster, reports, financial statements, event invitations and programs, tickets, and other ephemera. Although the microfilm contains examples of almost all these records, they have been retained as artifactual representations.

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Credjafawn Social Club Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession Numbers: 11,727; 15,221

Processing Information:

Processed by: Frank Hennessy

Digitized by: Aubrey Mullenix, December 2024.

Digitization was made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008.

Catalog ID number: 990017181380104294

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

African Americans -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.

African Americans -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul -- Societies, etc.

African Americans -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul -- Social life and customs.

Credit unions -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul

Places:

Saint Paul (Minn.) -- Clubs.

Saint Paul (Minn.) -- Social life and customs.

Persons:

Lawrence, John R.

Organizations:

Credjafawn Credit Union (Saint Paul, Minn.).

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