Steady Leadership and a Diverse Group of People
Fr. John P. Markoe, S.J. - Moderator
A 1914 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Markoe was dishonorably discharged from the Army in 1915 for conduct unbecoming an officer due to his "craving for and utter lack of tolerance for alcohol."
Markoe's brother William encouraged and eventually persuaded John to join him at a Jesuit seminary outside of St. Louis where they encountered and vowed to fight the racism faced by the Negro in America, especially within the Catholic Church. Markoe continually reminded DePorres Club members of the immorality of racial segregation and discrimination - that it was "a moral evil that perpetuates itself." Markoe would refer to Omaha's Jim Crow system as "the damnable, unwritten, illegal, immoral, rotten but efficiently enforced by cowardly and sneaky means, policy of enforced segregation." Before his death in 1967, Fr. Markoe was recognized by Whitney Young as "one of this century's champions of interracial justice and human rights." |
Denny Holland - President
Denny Holland enrolled at Creighton University in 1946. During the summer of 1947 Holland spent a week at Chicago's Friendship House; a group of young Catholics vowing to live in poverty while working and living in Chicago's black community. Holland returned to Creighton that fall "awakened in many ways" and reached out to Fr. John Markoe. After some discussion, the two men decided to start a group focused on racial justice.
Fr. Markoe became Holland's mentor; "He was helping my education. I pretty much wasn't accomplishing much in classes, but I was getting a lot of education pretty fast." DePorres Club members recalled Holland had a talent for conducting productive meetings that kept members coming back and that he led by example - even as Fr. Markoe guided the club into actions that initially left Holland "scared to death." |
The Omaha DePorres Club had hundreds of members over the years. Some attended one meeting and never returned. Others joined and stayed members for months, or years - until they moved, started families, or careers. Of those members, some stood out for their active participation in the club.
Sam and George
Barton Sam (left) was director of the DePorres Center during its second year. George, who coordinated picketing for the 1953 Reed's Ice Cream boycott, coined the phrase "less than Uncle Toms" for people who walked past pickets to buy ice cream at Reed's. 
Woodrow Morgan
A Tuskegee Airman who was shot down over Italy in 1944 and held in a German POW camp, Morgan was a member from 1951 to 1953. He joined the DePorres Club after members helped him and his family move into a home he had purchased in a white neighborhood. 
Virginia Frederick (Walsh)
A member from 1947 to 1951. Secretary during 1949. Her mother, Mary Frederick was also a club member. "It turned us into activists. We didn't know that word even, but that is what happened to us." 
Harold Tibbs
A member from 1951 to 1954, Tibbs was a strong advocate of affiliating with labor organizations like the United Packing House Workers and the Congress of Industrial Organizations to change Omaha's Jim Crow system. 
Raymond Metoyer
An early member of the club, Metoyer would later join and become part of the leadership of the Citizens Coordinating Committee for Civil Liberties (4CL) that would form in the early 1960s to continue the fight against Omaha's institutional racism. |
Agnes Wichita (Stark)
Secretary from February 1950 to February 1952. "I really didn't have time for this but I just couldn't help but be part of that admirable group of people." 
Chet Anderson
A Creighton English professor, Anderson joined the club in 1948. He headed several committees and managed the club's written publicity. 
Bill Reid
A member from 1947 to 1949. Vice-president during 1948-1949. For Reid, a Creighton pre-med student from British Honduras, Omaha's racial discrimination was an unpleasant surprise - not what he had expected in "the land of the free." 
Ola McCraney
The Omaha DePorres Club's first secretary, McCraney was a member for a year and a half. She "didn't go along with" some of the club's more confrontational methods. 
Eve Hanna
In her early fifties when the DePorres Club was founded, Hanna provided support and encouragement to Denny Holland and the club's younger members. As Virginia Walsh recalled, “It was very reassuring. You had the feeling that even if the bishop didn’t think you were doing right, your mother did. Or somebody else’s mother.” |
Tessie Edwards
Club member from 1948 to 1951. Corresponding secretary 1949-50. "I was very much aware of segregation and the need for integration in Omaha. I really wanted to become active and I liked the mission, the idea, of the DePorres Club." 
Wilbur Phillips
An early member of the club, Phillips recalled Fr. Markoe's strong influence; "Father would say 'Are they discriminating? Is it wrong? Then go tell them.' We had to go or admit we didn't have the guts." Phillips led the club for a year (1959-60) when it challenged the Omaha Public School district's discriminatory hiring policies. 
Jean Waite (Holland)
Joined club in 1949. Secretary from 1952-1954. Waite recalled, that along with weekly meetings, picketing, leafletting and letter writing, there was also a fun side to the club. "They were quite a crowd, ok? There were some good parties." 
Ed Corbett
A former Marine, Corbett was a colleague of Chet Anderson in Creighton's English department. Corbett joined the club in 1948 and edited and managed the club's newsletter. 
Bertha Calloway
One of the early members of the DePorres Club, Calloway headed an early effort to gain more publicity for the club, meeting with the publishers of Omaha's black newspapers, The Guide and The Star. |