The Omaha DePorres Center
October 1948 to September 1950
After the Omaha DePorres Club was asked to move their meetings off the Creighton campus, Fr. Markoe used his contacts in Omaha's African-American community to find a new home for the club - a vacant storefront on 24th and Grace. Calling their new home the Omaha DePorres Center, club members brought in speakers and held weekly forums on topics related to racism. The club distributed clothes to the needy, held dances and organized youth groups for local children.
Members also contacted area businesses that refused to hire blacks, including the Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway Company. During the summer of 1949 they gathered 2432 signatures on a petition intended to convince the Street Railway Company to hire black drivers - marking the beginning of a campaign that would continue for the next five years.
In July of 1950, the club began a boycott against the Edholm-Sherman Laundry. Located in the heart of Omaha's African-American community, the laundry refused to hire blacks to work in the front office or drive delivery trucks. The DePorres Club's boycott resulted in the hiring of black office workers at several area laundries.
For a number of reasons, including the Omaha DePorres Club's inability to keep up with the $40 monthly rent, the Omaha DePorres Center was closed in September of 1950.
October 1948 to September 1950
After the Omaha DePorres Club was asked to move their meetings off the Creighton campus, Fr. Markoe used his contacts in Omaha's African-American community to find a new home for the club - a vacant storefront on 24th and Grace. Calling their new home the Omaha DePorres Center, club members brought in speakers and held weekly forums on topics related to racism. The club distributed clothes to the needy, held dances and organized youth groups for local children.
Members also contacted area businesses that refused to hire blacks, including the Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway Company. During the summer of 1949 they gathered 2432 signatures on a petition intended to convince the Street Railway Company to hire black drivers - marking the beginning of a campaign that would continue for the next five years.
In July of 1950, the club began a boycott against the Edholm-Sherman Laundry. Located in the heart of Omaha's African-American community, the laundry refused to hire blacks to work in the front office or drive delivery trucks. The DePorres Club's boycott resulted in the hiring of black office workers at several area laundries.
For a number of reasons, including the Omaha DePorres Club's inability to keep up with the $40 monthly rent, the Omaha DePorres Center was closed in September of 1950.
Copyright 2013 Matthew Holland