Endowments; Civilian war relief; African American soldiers; United States; Circle for Negro War Relief; Crawford, T. Remsen; United States. Committee on Public Information
Format
correspondence
Genre
Business correspondence
Date
[between 1917 and 1919?]
Physical Description
microfilm, 16 mm, b&w
Note (Reel no.)
Reel 81
Note
PDF may contain multiple grant documents.
Committee on Public Information; Crawford, Ramsen
Time and time again it was borne in upon the inner consciousness of the women of the race that though the various organizations for war relief were doing all that was humanly possible for the soldiers of both races, they were inadequate for all the ne eds of the Negro soldier and his family. There were avenues open for more extensive relief; there were places as yet untouched by any organization; there were programs of direct War Relief and Constructive Relief work which needed to be carried out and some separate organization for this work was an imperative necessity. So the Circle for Negro War Relief came into existence in November, 1917. The leading spirit in this movement was Mrs. Emily Bigelow Hapgood, the president, and associated around her were the best minds of the country, white and colored. The Circle was incorporated, and dedicated itself to the purpose of promoting the welfare of Negro soldiers and their dependent families as they might be affected by the emergencies of war. The success of this Circle was immediate and phenomenal. Within a few months, sixty 'units' were formed, extending from New York to Utah, to the far South, throughout the East, and middle West. Each unit dedicated itself in its particular locality to the relief of some vital need either in the Community or in some nearby camp. For instance Ambulance Unit of N.Y. gave a two-thousand dollar ambulance to Camp Upton. Unit No. 29 in St. Helena, South Carolina, not only did the usual war knitting and letter writing, but during the influenza epidemic formed itself into a health committee in cooperation with the Red Cross. It would be difficult to give a complete report of the work of all the units. It forms a voluminous mass of interesting and illuminating statistics. The activities of the Circle ranged from the making of comfort kits to the furnishing of chewing gum to the soldiers; from the supplying of victrolas and records to the introduction of Theodore Roosevelt, Irvin Cobb and Needham Roberts at Carnegie Hall; from the giving of Christmas trees in Harlem to Southern dinners for the home-sick boys in Augusta, Georgia; from contributions of air-cushions from Altoona, Pennsylvania, to the issuing of educational pamphlets on the subject of the Negro soldier." [SOURCE: Dunbar-Nelson, Alice. "Negro Women in War Work." Scott's Official History of the American Negro in the World War. Emmett J. Scott, Chicago, Homewood Press, 1919, ch. 27. The World War I Document Archive, Brigham Young University Library, https://net.lib.byu.edu/estu/wwi/comment/scott/SCh27.htm. Accessed 25 Sep. 2018.] "Mr. Crawford was born in Lincoln county and came out of the well-known Crawford family of this state. Most of the later part of his life was spent in New York, where he was at different times connected with some of the leading dailes, among them the Times, Herald and World. Being at one time city editor of the World, he had a distinction of securing the last interview with Thomas A. Edison for publication." [SOURCE: "FUNERAL RITES HELD FOR REMSEN CRAWFORD: Veteran Journalist Laid To Final Rest in Lincolnton Cemetery." The Atlanta Constitution (1881-1945), Jun 28, 1932, pp. 17. ProQuest, http://ezproxy.cul.columbia.edu/login?url=https://search.proquest.com/docview/501513784?accountid=10226. Accessed 25 Sep. 2018.] "The Committee on Public Information (1917-1919), also known as the CPI or the Creel Committee, was an independent agency of the government of the United States created to influence public opinion to support US participation in World War I. In just over 26 months, from April 14, 1917, to June 30, 1919, it used every medium available to create enthusiasm for the war effort and to enlist public support against the foreign and perceived domestic attempts to stop America's participation in the war. It used mainly propaganda to accomplish its goals." [SOURCE: "Committee on Public Information." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_on_Public_Information. Accessed 25 Sep. 2018.]