The Omaha Star
October 1950 to October 1954
July 1959 to July 1960
After closing the DePorres Center in August of 1950, the Omaha DePorres Club met briefly at the North Omaha YWCA. In October the club announced that Mildred Brown, publisher of one of Omaha's black newspapers, the Omaha Star, had offered to let the club meet at her offices free of charge. The club intended their stay at the Star to be temporary - they would look for other meeting sites more than once - but the newspaper's offices would remain the club's home for the next four years.While they settled into their new home, the club continued their boycott against the Edholm-Sherman Laundry and their ongoing campaign against the Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway Company. They also organized successful boycotts that targeted the hiring practices of the Omaha Coca-Cola Bottling Company and Reed's Ice Cream.
In 1954, under pressure from the combined forces of the DePorres Club, the Omaha branch of the NAACP, and the Omaha Urban League, the Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway Company finally agreed to hire black drivers for Omaha's bus system. The end of the bus company campaign marked the beginning of a five year hiatus for the DePorres Club.
In 1959 Wilbur Phillips, who had been a club member in the early 1950s, resurrected the club to challenge the discriminatory hiring practices of the Omaha Public Schools. Phillips led the club during its year-long, but unsuccessful campaign to convince the Omaha district to hire additional African-American teachers - beyond the handful the district employed at the three elementary schools designated for black students.
October 1950 to October 1954
July 1959 to July 1960
After closing the DePorres Center in August of 1950, the Omaha DePorres Club met briefly at the North Omaha YWCA. In October the club announced that Mildred Brown, publisher of one of Omaha's black newspapers, the Omaha Star, had offered to let the club meet at her offices free of charge. The club intended their stay at the Star to be temporary - they would look for other meeting sites more than once - but the newspaper's offices would remain the club's home for the next four years.While they settled into their new home, the club continued their boycott against the Edholm-Sherman Laundry and their ongoing campaign against the Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway Company. They also organized successful boycotts that targeted the hiring practices of the Omaha Coca-Cola Bottling Company and Reed's Ice Cream.
In 1954, under pressure from the combined forces of the DePorres Club, the Omaha branch of the NAACP, and the Omaha Urban League, the Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway Company finally agreed to hire black drivers for Omaha's bus system. The end of the bus company campaign marked the beginning of a five year hiatus for the DePorres Club.
In 1959 Wilbur Phillips, who had been a club member in the early 1950s, resurrected the club to challenge the discriminatory hiring practices of the Omaha Public Schools. Phillips led the club during its year-long, but unsuccessful campaign to convince the Omaha district to hire additional African-American teachers - beyond the handful the district employed at the three elementary schools designated for black students.
Copyright 2013 Matthew Holland