Administrative Information

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Preferred Citation

Secret Twelve Club Ledger, 1935-1955, Accession #11089, Special Collections Dept., University of Virginia Library, Charlottesville, Va.

Acquisition Information

This ledger was purchased from The Book Broker, Charlottesville, Virginia, April 8, 1993.

Biographical/Historical Information

The Secret Twelve Club (occasionally known as the "Secret 12") was founded ca. 1912-1914 with twelve members, and is considered by some to be the oldest black social club in Charlottesville. Its exact date of founding is obscure but its anniversary is mentioned as February 22 (entries, January 8, 1952, p. 106, and February 26, 1952, p. 117). This was initially a secret association partly due to fears that Charlottesville whites might suppress black clubs and retaliate against its members (afterward, whites learned of the club's existence but mostly ignored it; however some were invited as guests to various socials). Like similar fraternal organizations, the Secret Twelve employed passwords, secret grips and signs, and membership cards; members were addressed as "brother." The club's purposes were social and civic: to instill racial pride in blacks, serve as role model for black youth, provide counseling services for troubled youth, and, to raise funds for charity and groups such as the Red Cross and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Membership was limited to fourteen Charlottesville and Albemarle County African-American males aged twenty-one or older (club members' average ages were the 30s and 40s but at the peak of the club's activities the average member was in his 60s or 70s). New members were solicited by word of mouth; an application form was required and potential members' backgrounds were investigated. Candidates had to be of good character, a registered voter, and regular churchgoer with no criminal record. Current members voted on new members; a majority vote was required. Most members were married, middle-class blacks (homeowners or renters) of professional or working classes.

Officers included a president, vice-president, sergeant-at-arms, treasurer, secretary, and chaplain. Meetings began with prayer and the reading and approval of previous minutes. Dues were $2.00 per meeting (five dollars during the 1990s); meetings rotated among members' homes or were held at a local Masonic lodge. Club funds were deposited at the National Bank; absences were fined and one year suspensions required of club members for disorderly conduct at meetings (September 27, 1953, p. 163)

Among its social activities was the sponsoring of dances at the city's Carver Recreation Center and Elk's Home (invitations were by word of mouth, posters and flyers). Club socials were by invitation only, and each member could invite guests to these and other private parties; Christmas socials were held annually (January 1, 1951, p. 68). Bus trips and picnics were also sponsored to Prince Edward Lake (August 28, 1951, p. 92) and Culpeper, Virginia (August 25, 1953, p. 160). "Widows' parties" were once-a-year galas for the propose of raising funds for the widows of deceased members. The Secret Twelve also collected and donated money to members' widows (for example, the club proposed to donate $25.00 to Mrs. Murray on January 9, 1951 following the death of her husband James); it also sent flowers and members served as pallbearers for the deceased wives of members (March 25, 1954, p. 172). "Sick dues" were collected (August 29, 1950, p. 59) during the illness or hospitalization of members or their wives to send get-well cards (fruit sent to Mrs. Susie Lewis, June 2, 1950, p. 52).

Local charity and civic groups seeking donations were required to send a representative to club meetings to apply or else make such requests in writing. The ledger indicates club donations were distributed to the Albemarle Tuberculosis Association (November 28, 1950, p. 64); the NAACP (October 23, 1951, p. 96), its campaign "For the Betterment of The Negro Patients at the University Hospital" (October 23, 1951, p. 97), and its membership drive (February 23, 1954, pp. 169-170). The Secret Twelve also donated funds for the purchase of a jacket for the Jackson P. Burley High School football team (April 28, 1953, p. 151--a blacks- only school).

Scope and Content Information

This ledger is of "The Secret Twelve Club," an all-male African-American social club in Charlottesville, Virginia, 1935, 1949-1955. 1 Most of its entries were made between January 10, 1950 and February 22, 1955; these consist of minutes, membership lists, attendance rolls, dues and assessments, "Rules & Regulations," applications of potential members, initiation rituals, and donations of funds to various individuals and organizations. According to some members, the club was discontinued ca. 1991 but plans are underway to revive it; others maintain it is still active. 2

The inside front cover bears the notation "Secret Twelve Club Jan 1950"; missing or blank pages include: 1-24, 28-34, 36-38, 66, 89-90, 98, 104, 112, 114, 116, 144, 148. (The outside cover bears a partially effaced inscription: "Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, Virginia Alpha [Chapter].") 3 Entries are in pencil and ink and begin with a copy of the club's "enatations" [enactions?] as of December 5, 1935 (p. 25), consisting of initiation questions put to each candidate prior to admission to membership, followed by "Rules and Regulations" (p. 27) and "By Laws" (p. 35). The first meeting described in this volume (January 10, 1950, p. 39-41), mentions election of officers, payment of dues, and motions; subsequent entries report the suspension of members for nonpayment of dues, absence at meetings or failing to allow their homes to be meeting sites even though it was the member's turn (January 23, 1950), resignations (W. J. Lewis, June 27, 1950), and club funds are accounted for and balanced.

1 It is identified as a men's social club, "The Secret Twelve Social Club," in Helen Camp De Corse, Charlottesville--A Study of Negro Life and Personality (Charlottesville: University of Virginia, 1933), p. 97.

2 Former and current club members graciously agreed to be interviewed or provided information: Mr. John Williams (March 8, 1993); Mr. Harry Frye, Mr. Clarence Massie, Mr. John Terrell (March 16, 1993); and, Mr. John Carter (March 20, 1993). The obituary of James A. Jackson, Sr., Charlottesville Daily Progress, September 13, 1993, identifies him as "a former member of the Secret 12 Social Club."

3 Virginia Alpha was Phi Kappa Psi's second national chapter; it was organized at the University of Virginia in 1853. Jack L. Anson and Robert F. Marchesani, Jr., eds. Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities, 20th ed. (Indianapolis, 1991), p. III-82. Its minute book, October 1855 to March 1894, accession number 4320, is in the Special Collections Department, Alderman Library, University of Virginia.

Note to Researchers

For similar collections regarding black club membership researchers should consult Department accessions 8979-u (Richmond Blacks) and 10396-b (The Clark Family).