National Board of the Young Men's Christian Associations

Description

This folder contains materials created/collected by the National YMCA as part of their interracial work. The Board Chairman's Committee on Interracial Advance was created in 1964 and worked to help resolve legal suits brought against the YMCA by plaintiffs charging violation of the 1964 federal civil rights legislation. It also convened national conference in Washington D.C. to consider the implications of this legislation for the YMCA. Following the conference and a reorganization of the National Board, the Committee for Interracial Advance was constituted as a successor to the Commission on Interracial Policies and Program. The Committee provided the leadership for the development of a landmark amendment to the YMCA constitution, passed in 1967, which required all local associations to annual certify that "their policies and practices provide that eligibility for membership or participation in program shall be without any discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin" as a condition of membership. Reports and other materials from an annual conference with the purpose of identifying problems and searching for methods and techniques for racial advance within the YMCA movement. This folder specifically includes statistical data on non-white participation at various levels of the YMCA, reports of local conditions for blacks, and reports on various local initiatives.

Record Contributed By

University of Minnesota Libraries