Exhibiting
Persistence of Spirit: The Phyllis Wheatley Branch of YWCA Metropolitan St. Louis
Branch Was Central to Mill Creek Valley Area African-American
Community in Early 20th Century St. Louis
In 1911 St. Louis was segregated by custom and by law. Yet, a persistence of spirit led a group of visionary African-American women to start a YWCA branch to address the particular needs of African-American girls, women and the community in which they lived.
In 1911, the St. Louis Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs petitioned the national YWCA for a branch. Upon its approval in 1912, this new Chapman Branch was renamed for Phyllis Wheatley, the revered former slave who became America’s first published African American.
The establishment of Wheatley was groundbreaking: The only other cities with black branches were New York City; Poughkeepsie, NY; St. Paul, Minn., and Dayton, Ohio.
The Wheatley Branch was a beloved jewel in the African-American community, providing a meeting place for fellowship, education, recreation and “respectable” temporary housing. It was located in the middle of the black community within Mill Creek Valley and stood as a testament to black pride, hope, aspirations and achievements.
However, because of social mores of the time, white women were reluctant to embrace these sister branches. They were uncomfortable with sanctioning autonomous groups of black women. The problem was resolved by the national YWCA which placed black branches under white affiliates’ control in 1907. Consequently, the Wheatley Branch operated under the auspices of the Central and later Metro offices of the St. Louis YWCA.
An operating structure was administered by the Committee on Administration (originally, Committee on Management), a group of African-American women who provided governance and oversaw day-to day operations.
Early services included pageants, job service, self-improvement classes, athletics, and clubs for business men and women. As late as 1975, the Wheatley Square Dancers performed throughout St. Louis.
The black community could see and meet important figures of the day, such as W.E.B. Du Bois, the eminent scholar and activist who lectured at Wheatley in 1922; the Fisk Jubilee Singers visited in 1916 and poet/writer Maya Angelou was a guest.
Black dignitaries, who traveled to St. Louis, such as actress Butterfly McQueen and renowned educator Mary McLeod Bethune, stayed in Wheatley transient rooms because they were not welcome in area hotels.
“Persistence of Spirit: The Phyllis Wheatley Branch of YWCA Metropolitan St. Louis” exhibit consists of nine dimensional panels and includes more than 50 historical photographs, from the collections of the Wheatley Branch; the Missouri Historical Museum, St. Louis; Western Historical Manuscript Collection-St. Louis; and Landmarks Association of St. Louis, Inc. They depict black life beginning in the early 1900s as well as YWCA landmark programs that have transcended the decades. Panel text descriptions highlight the following subject areas: The Beginnings…Separate, with Dignity and Passion; The Essential Entity…Social, Cultural and Educational Cultivation; The World Wars…Wheatley and the Makings of the USO; The Meeting Place; The Wheatley Founders…Women of Vision; Girl Reserves…and Landmark Programs; The Path to Integration; Where We Are Today…The Phyllis Wheatley Complex; and Phyllis Wheatley the Poet 1753-1784.
The exhibit is on permanent display at the Phyllis Wheatley Heritage Center, located at 2711 Locust Street in midtown St. Louis. The adjacent Phyllis Wheatley Apartment building, constructed in 1926, was the home of the branch, beginning in 1941. The gymnasium (Heritage Center) was added in 1953, and was designed by noted architect Harris Armstrong. The buildings were closed in 1994. The apartments were renovated in 2004 and the Heritage Center reopened a year later.
Individuals or groups interested in viewing the free exhibit may phone the Heritage Center at 314.652.7755 or send an e-mail to pwhcinfo@ywcastlouis.org. The YWCA Web site is www.ywcastlouis.org
About the Committee on Administration: Though their role has evolved from operations to volunteer support, the Committee on Administration has provided continuous support of the YWCA mission since 1911.
View the KETC TV9 Living St. Louis feature on the historic YWCA Phyllis Wheatley Branch. Click here.
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