A NOVEL IDEA Negro Community Centre Final Essay

Professor High - Hist388 (Telling Stories) A NOVEL IDEA Negro Community Centre Final Essay

Maureen Cant 4-3-2017

The Negro Community Centre/Charles Este Cultural Centre fonds (Archive) that is in the

Concordia University Library Special Collections has become a wealth of information about the

Negro Community Centre (NCC). It was once an iconic building that touched many lives in the community of Little Burgundy and provided countless services to the Black population. While doing an in depth analysis of Box # HA04157 in the Archive my attention was drawn to a Mr.

Stanley Clyke, who I learned was the Executive Director of the NCC from 1949 until 1970.

There were many programs that were offered at the centre but one in particular was located in

File 3 in the Archive labelled the Negro Library. The project was to promote black culture and history to the Montreal community of Little Burgundy through the NCC. Black content was the objective of this library along with activities such as literary discussions, storytelling, films and book review competitions and was called The Library of Black Literature. Stanley Clyke passed away while books and funds were being actively received and unfortunately never saw the future of his final project. However, on September 24, 1970, the NCC’s Library of Black

Literature was opened and was ultimately named, The Stanley Clyke Memorial Library.

Although the idea of launching a library in any community or facility would be a massive undertaking it is nevertheless interesting what prompted Mr. Clyke to take on this mission with such enthusiasm. Stanley Clyke was a man of his time wherein his methods and ideologies progressed the NCC to open one of the first libraries of Black literature, but what those methods were and do they have relevance today requires further understanding of the man, his motivation and his vision.

November 2014 marked the demolition date of the NCC in the Montreal suburb of Little

Burgundy. This suburb incorporates Atwater Ave. to the west, Guy Street to the east, to the south of St. Antoine Street and to the north of Notre Dame Avenue. Although most of the

1 material gathered from the building was rescued in 1998 and stored at Concordia University it was only in 2013 the boxed material would be donated and become a part of Concordia

University Library, Special Collections. Archivist, Alexandra Mills then began the exciting and lengthy process of filtering through and organizing the documentation. It is unfortunate that the building has disappeared leaving just a crater in the neighbourhood, however, the Archive is alive to introduce or re-introduce the many programs, organizations, movements and characters that once shaped the NCC. Although The Stanley Clyke Memorial Library was also destroyed, the Archive has revealed the value it brought to the distinct Black community.

File 3 as mentioned above was the file containing information on the Negro Library. A letter dated September 23, 1970 from the NCC President, Mrs. E.K. Spencer, explains that

Stanley Clyke began to speak passionately about the notion of a library in 1968. It was an idea to offer a place where the community could learn about Black culture and Black history in a welcoming environment and gain self-importance (Box4157, 2016, p. File 3). Stanley Clyke’s name was on many of the letters that were sent to and from the NCC asking for any support possible and the reaction was favourable as money and books began to filter in and put towards the project he called The Library of Black Literature (Box4157, 2016, p. File 3). Books however, were not the only requests being put forward. A letter addressed to Mr. O. Forde at the

University of West Indies, states that the library will be “for education on Black history, storytelling, literary discussion and films” (Box4157, 2016, p. File 3). The purpose of a library of all Black literature was unique and was recognized for this. The NCC received a donation from the Rotary Club in 1970 for the library start-up. Stanley Clyke had been a long time member of this organization and the project in their opinion was also considered a very one project and would be supported (Box4157, 2016, p. File 3).

In 1927 the NCC was established in Union United Church as a means to ease the strain of conditions that the Negro population were confronting at the time. It was a welcoming space for the residents of the neighbourhood to find support for societal issues, for gathering information about social services and to find employment. A document in the Archive called NCC Past

Present and Future states that prejudice and discrimination was widespread in Montreal. There was a need to address the turbulent and changing years following WWII. Black soldiers, both male and female were returning home to Little Burgundy with more democratic views relating to ethnic identity and racism and needed to be addressed within the grass roots of the economically impoverished community. In “1948 a search was made for a person willing to undergo graduate study at a School of Social Work to prepare for undertaking the job of instituting a new program for the Centre, identified with principles of progressive social work, thinking and practice”

(Box4157, 2016, pp. File 23, p. 2). Although this document was written by Stanley Clyke, as humble as he was, it fails to mention that it he was the man who undertook the enormous venture of Executive Director in 1949. David Austin’s book Fear of a Black Nation: Race, Sex and

Security in Sixties Montreal however, confirms he was the man but also reveals further personal information. In the 1960’s an interview by Boubacar Koné Stanley Clyke talks about how he obtain his B.A. at Acadia University and unable to find work matching his degree he became a porter for the Canadian Pacific Railroad for eighteen years. It was only in 1949 he left that job as he obtained his degree from the McGill School of Social Work to fill the position at the only

Black institution in Montreal. Many Black men and women in Montreal were well educated yet the jobs available to them in Montreal were either as porters or domestic servants (2013).

The discrimination was very visible to the Black community. The Archive contains

Gazette newspaper clippings quoting Mr. Clyke on the challenges of discrimination facing the

Black population in Montreal. Hiring agencies were unable to place Negroes in positions because they knew that certain businesses would not allow it so there was no point in trying.

There were also incidents of being refused hotel accommodations during Expo’67 (Box4157,

2016, p. File 6). This was a challenge that Stanley Clyke knew all so well and was able to break the barrier for himself but also knew that educating the community on how to break through as well was necessary. Although he had to obtain his second degree in his 40’s, it was the community of Little Burgundy that would benefit from his wealth of knowledge. His life experiences and his professional training would transfer into the NCC in the programs he implemented and his ability to recognize the needs of the community was perhaps the key to its success and growth. The early years of his tenure in the NCC would continually address the racial injustices that occurred locally and globally and conceivably are what helped plant the seed for his future library project.

Stanley Clyke was born in October 1907 in Truro, Nova Scotia, and died on August 5,

1970 at the age of 65 and was buried at the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal (FamilySearch,

2015). In his earlier days as a young athlete, Clyke sought to reach his highest potential playing for The Truro Sheiks in the 1930 Colored Hockey League the team won the championship and an induction to the 2008 Black Ice Hockey Hall of Fame (BlackIcehockey, 2008). His educational background as earlier outlined was supported by his wife Emily Davies Clyke. In her early days she was teacher in a one room school house in a Black community in Nova Scotia and later obtained undergraduate and graduate degrees. Among her numerous accomplishments she also practiced social work in Montreal’s colleges Dawson and Vanier and became an assistant Professor at McGill for student placement in social work. It was her focus as was her husband’s that education and community work were critical in improving the lives of the socio-

4 economically challenged Black youth in Montreal. Mrs. Clyke was also the co-founder and teacher at the Peter Hall School, a special needs school. Her heroes in her life were her parents and her sister, Viola Desmond (Williams-DP, 2006, pp. 102-103). Viola Desmond is being honoured as a civil libertarian and in 2018 her portrait will adorn the ten dollar bill. A remarkable documentary called Long Road to Justice: The Viola Desmond Story interviewed

Constance Backhouse, a specialist lawyer dealing with racial discrimination claims that Viola

Desmond’s education and status as a businesswomen is what drove her to recognize and challenge the racial inequality she experienced in Truro, Nova Scotia in 1946. Backhouse also states that racism needs to be looked at and dealt with today when it happens but it seems buried in our society and could be called “common sense racism”. She also asks “why is it that we have never had a Black Prime Minister….where are the people who come from Viola Desmond’s community?” (Jardine, 2012) . Mr. Clyke’s life experiences as well as his relationships with two very strong and influential women formed an excellent foundation for his position as Executive

Director of the NCC and the successful programs he initiated. He and his wife were two of those people who came from Viola Desmond’s community and were an inspiration to be brave and have made their legacies and contributions towards the struggle for racial equality. His library was a space to provide education and to help overcome racial discrimination in a community for both Black and White Montreal.

In 1955 the NCC merged with the Iverley Community Centre, was run by the Old

Brewery Mission to help the poor, and moved to their building at 2035 Coursol Street. The new facility was much larger than the Union United Church and was able to accommodate the growing numbers of the NCC. Stanley Clyke was considerably proud that the centre was inclusive to all residents of the community regardless of their race, religion colour or place of

5 origin. The merger was also a part of a new social welfare plan established by the United Red

Feather Service (Box4157, 2016, pp. File 2,3). This service was the main source of funding for the NCC and were privy to the happenings at the NCC but also acted as an important guide for the centres changing needs (Box4157, 2016, pp. File 2,20,24,25). An opportunity arose to acquire a building that could provide sufficient space and at the same time remain within the community boundaries. The merger split the Board of Directors equally (half Black and half white) which was a test that Stanley Clyke welcomed. Everyone was welcomed and was a positive step towards an inclusive education for both the White and Black membership within a

Black dominated community.

With his progressive training Stanley Clyke introduced many programs and imparted a philosophy that community is a key component to recognizing and solving problems and more notably educating. Self-esteem and self-respect are two fundamental values that are needed to overcome social injustices. Leadership and responsibility were also fundamental objectives that he introduced in order for individuals to develop and reach their highest potential. As stated in the book by Wilma Patricia Holas, Millennium Minds: 100 Black Canadians, “Stanley Clyke spent a lifetime fighting for socio-economically challenged families. He believed in community.

He believed in the capacity of ordinary people to assume the challenge of self-development”

(Holas, 2000, p. 79). One can see how the notion of a library for the community was an important step towards self-development.

Guest lecturer from “Telling Stories”, Jean Addlaire Gaetan from Atelier 850 stressed the importance of and asked the question about how one goes about belonging. An important question being addressed again almost 40 years after. The NCC was the only institution available in the area to offer programs for children to acquire not only friendships but a sense of

6 belonging. The youth programs at the NCC were a giant step towards these goals. Mr. Clyke’s ideology of the importance of community and a library bring up the modern movement of

“Community Libraries”. There are so many factors that can influence an individual from shying away from libraries, such as race or social class, and they can be viewed as intimidating spaces.

Perhaps Stanley Clyke was ahead of his time with his community based library designed for just that; a library for the Little Burgundy community. Williment’s article discusses how “the people we talked with revealed they do not feel comfortable in public libraries, and they do not feel that libraries play an important role in meeting their daily needs. A “community-led service planning model is the most effective way to make library services relevant to socially excluded community members” (Williment, 2013). Libraries traditionally would have excluded communities like Little Burgundy and considering the racism and discrimination that was present in Montreal and the idea of frequenting a public library was expectedly unappealing to the Black population and thus would eliminate the opportunity. The understanding of a community library is to provide a space that is approachable and tailored for a specific community. The NCC

Library of Black Literature was set up over forty years prior to this recent concept and definitely provided a space absent of intimidation or fear in the Little Burgundy community.

The Archive reveals several programs that Stanley Clyke implemented for the youth and adults of the Community in the early years as Executive Director. Many files from the Archive show he introduced a lunch program, day camps, sports, music, dance classes, tutoring programs and finally a The Library of Black Literature (Box4157, 2016, pp. File 3,4,15,22,38) that would give the youth in the community a familiar and welcoming home away from home (Box4157,

2016, p. File 23). The NCC programs offered a space to provide basic needs like food and shelter, that is familiar and safe, to build friendships, to excel, to respect others and finally to

7 learn. As a social worker Stanley Clyke was most likely familiar with the Maslow Hierarchy of

Needs which included the following principles:

1. Biological and Physiological needs - air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep. 2. Safety needs - protection from elements, security, order, law, stability, freedom from fear. 3. Love and belongingness needs - friendship, intimacy, trust and acceptance, receiving and giving affection and love. Affiliating, being part of a group (family, friends, work). 4. Esteem needs - achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, self-respect, respect from others. 5. Self-Actualization needs - realizing personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking persona l growth and peak experiences. (Maslow, 2016)

These motivational principles contributed to his desire to find a solution to rise above the racism and prejudice that the Black population in Montreal was faced with daily. The passion for a library was the final step of self-fulfillment in the list of principles as well as Stanley Clyke’s final contribution to the NCC and to addressing racism in Montreal.

Dorothy Williams commented as another guest speaker for the Telling Stories course, that the high period at the NCC in her opinion, were the 1960’s. Stanley Clyke’s impact within the community was surely missed and Dorothy Williams could not speak of The Library of Black

Literature, or as she vehemently corrected was called “The Stanley Clyke Memorial Library”, because it was such a devastating topic for her (Williams, 2017). Although, the contents of the library were destroyed along with the building, the Archive provides evidence of what content was collected. Books were to include Black culture, Black history and books by Black authors.

Among the activities that were going to be included at the library were guest speakers, storytelling, literary discussions and competitions as well as films. (Box4157, 2016, pp. File

3,15). A Negro Book Club Catalog was a reference for possible books to seek out. This was a catalog of books for example on countries in Africa or the West Indies as well as on prominent figures in Black History such as Martin Luther King, Coretta Scott King, Malcom X that would

8 be directed at teens (Box4157, 2016, p. File 3). Careful thought was put into what content would be placed in the library as evidenced by a document in the Archive called “An Aid to the

Selection of Black Literature: with emphasis on inspirational figures of current and historical fame”. This document explains the concerns about Black students’ education in particular their reading skills. Content is important not only for skill level but the content of what is being read should be for interest as well. Hints on how to select material for specific age groups is also outlined and how to introduce and be cautious about radical racist content in literature and film.

This document as well stresses the importance of who would benefit from Black literature, which would include everyone from those “ignorant of the suppression of Black literary heritage, to become aware of one’s identity, for the White student with potential for tomorrow’s bigot… or for those black students whose hurt and hate are likely to overshadow more constructive radical attitudes.” Also in this particular archival box includes lists of children’s literature by such Black authors as Eloise Greenfield, Lucille Clifton, Mary Ambrose and some White authors such as

Ezra Keats would be accepted. He met the standards of the NCC as “He based the lives of his multiracial characters, on his childhood but added loving parents, friends and pets. He wanted no child to be an outsider. “If we could see each other exactly as the other is,” he wrote, “this would be a different world” (Keats, 1964). From the beginning of his time at the NCC in 1949 up until his death in 1970 his objectives were to provide social change through education. A quotation from the Archive by James Baldwin, a Black novelist wrote:

‘Black children grow up with a “feeling of no past, no present, and no future.” And he wrote “If……one managed to change the curriculum in all the schools so that Negroes learned more about themselves and their real contributions to the culture, you would be liberating not only Negroes, you’d be liberating white people who know nothing about their history.”’ (Box4255, 1978)

Examples of films were also included such as African Heritage Series and Seven Shades of Pale (Box4255, 1978). The library also contained content about The Slave Trade (Box4200),

South Africa, in particular the Anti-Apartheid movement (Box4191, 1970) and content about the

African countries such as Zaire, Benin, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, Rhodesia, Zambia and many others were accessible (Box4169, 1970). The display of books is an acknowledgment of the pioneering efforts of Stanley Clyke. Montreal was not exempt from racial discrimination and as

Executive Director of the NCC Stanley Clyke believed that “increased education attainment would improve the employment outlook for blacks” (Austin, 2013) and his idea of a library in

1968 was a movement in itself to raise the black community to its highest potential.

His knowledge and passion for social work was a treasured component to the success of the NCC in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Incidents of racism and discrimination prompted Stanley

Clyke to develop as many social programs as possible and providing a source for education was the key to rising above the ignorance. During the 1950’s and 1960’s civil rights activists were leaders of social justice. Stanley Clyke was a community organizer and fighter for social injustices as well but violence was absent from his main objectives. His beliefs seem to lie more with the ideology Martin Luther King had in his teachings on non-violent social change. The second step in his teachings is “EDUCATION: It is essential to inform others, including your opposition, about your issue. This minimizes misunderstandings and gains you support and sympathy” (KingCenter.org, 2014) which was a primary motivation as Executive Director of the

NCC and The Library of Black Literature. NCC was opened to help the black population in

Montreal and Stanley Clyke was inclusive to inform all members of the community white or black. A photo of a girls’ volleyball team is just one of many examples of the inclusiveness

Stanley Clyke was proud of about the NCC (Box4157, 2016, p. File 4).

His motivation for programs and in particular about the library stemmed from both his personal and professional life experiences. His accomplishments as a community leader were expressed within the NCC by the Archive and fortunately it was salvaged to act as a comprehensive source of Black history not only for Montreal but Canadian Black history as well.

The Stanley Clyke Memorial Library was a strong learning environment for the Black community and now provides a heritage of a time when racism and discrimination were rife in

Montreal and was a much needed organization to help change this mindset. Although the NCC is gone as well as its library perhaps there is a need for an establishment, such as a National

Library of Black Literature that could recognize the efforts that institutions like the NCC and individuals similar to Viola Desmond, Emily Clyke, Stanley Clyke and his successors made to combat and to continue to combat racism. As James Baldwin, a Black novelist wrote:

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” (Baldwin, 2017)

References

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