The seven men who started the Departmental Progressive club in 1927 just wanted to have a good time.
“They all got jobs in some department of the federal government and held a dance to celebrate,” explained Clinton Wair, a member of the club since 1948.
The Departmental Progressive, celebrating its 75th anniversary this month, was started by a group of seven African-American men who wanted a place where they could meet with their friends to socialize.
“After that first dance, they decided that they wanted to find a place where they could go for relaxation and conversation, and that’s how the club began,” said Lawrence Robinson, the club’s current president, who has been a member since 1967. “The name came about because of the departments in which they worked, and the fact that they wanted the group to be progressive.”
Slowly but steadily, club membership grew, over the years including most of the city’s black leaders. Harvey Gray, another member since 1967, believes that this is the club’s real mechanism for recruiting new members.
“We are very proud of the fact that our members are leaders in this community and serve as role models to young people,” Gray said. “Ira Robinson, the city’s first African-American city councilman, was a member. Ferdinand Day was a member. Melvin Miller is a member – our members are very visible in the community and have been active in a wide range of organizations.”
BOTH THE CLUB’S home and the land on which it stands were purchased by the members, two decades after the Departmental Progressive got its start.
The building contains a clubroom, where members can watch television, read, talk to friends or play cards. The main room is large enough to accommodate club or community functions. There is a kitchen for members’ use and a bar.
“We bought the land in 1948 and laid the cornerstone for this building in 1955,” said Haywood Cross, another member since 1948.
Wair continued the story. “Each member was asked to give $300, and anyone who didn’t had to pay a 50-percent fine.”
That started the club’s 50-percent rule, he said, which is still in force: The club still fines members the same amount when they fail to pay their dues and fees.
“WE ARE A PRIVATE club, but we let church groups and some other organizations use the facility for meetings,” said member A. Melvin Miller. “Private” means members only, and membership is restricted to men.
“We have had a women’s auxiliary in the past and are very happy that there are some ladies in the community who would like to start that group again,” said Gray. “The two groups have worked well together in the past, and we look forward to working with the ladies again.”
The club also looks forward to working with young people, and Robinson understands the need to work on recruiting them.
“We have to find more ways to reach out to the younger members of our community,” he said. “Everyone has such busy schedules today that it is hard.”
SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS already provide outreach opportunities for club members. The Departmental Progressive gives a scholarship through the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria, and it holds an open house for young people who are interested in learning more about St. Augustine College – but it could expand its college open house in the future.
“Our scholarship is a four-year scholarship, so we have had as many as four young people in college at a time,” said Robinson. “Also, we have established the relationship with St. Augustine because some of our members attended school there. That is something that we might certainly consider expanding.”
The group also gives a community-service award to an individual and to one or more organizations each year. This year’s individual recipient was Dorothy Turner, and the organizations that were honored were the Olympic Boys and Girls Club and Project Discovery.
Members presented these awards on Sept. 20, at the kickoff 75th-birthday celebration. On Sept. 28, they held a birthday dinner and plan to hold a picnic early in October.
The Progressive Departmental Club may have to work to attract new members, Robinson said, but not to keep them. “Once the members join, they stay. We are all certainly examples of that,” he said.