South Elyton Civic League
The South Elyton Civic League was an improvement association for the South Elyton area (now the Titusville community) first organized in the 1910s. Jefferson Heights Land Co. president M. H. Freeman Jr was secretary of the organization in 1919.
The League was re-organized in 1934 as a chapter of the Alabama State Federation of Colored Civic Leagues. Architect Wallace Rayfield was involved in chartering the group. In December 1934 the league hosted NAACP field secretary William Pickens, who reportedly warned the group of "the dangers of following radical organizations."
In the 1930s the group met every Friday evening in the basement of the yet-to-be completed South Elyton Baptist Church.
Later presidents of the organization included Rufus Jones and Clarence Price who continued to work toward increasing the status of Black citizens and for neighborhood improvements that would provide youth with safe places for recreation and personal growth.
The South Elyton Civic League was among the major supporters of Memorial Park and the Memorial Park Community Center in Titusville, raising neighborhood funds and lobbying the Birmingham City Commission. As one of its fund-raising activities the Civic League organized a concert and fashion show featuring clothing from local retailers and hairstyles created by local salons.
References
- Adams, Oscar W. (December 9, 1934) "What Negroes Are Doing." The Birmingham News, p. 10
- Connerly, Charles E. (2005) "The Most Segregated City in America": City Planning and Civil Rights in Birmingham, 1920-1980. University of Virginia Press ISBN 0813923344