First Local Y.M.C.A. Sued for Racial Bias

Document text

The following text has been generated automatically during the document scanning process. It may contain errors, omissions, or incorrect formatting. Please refer to the PDF document if this text is not usable.

Download

By downloading, publishing, or reusing the Materials outside of the Website, you hereby confirm and attest that you have read and agree to the LDF Archival Collection Terms of Use linked below. We draw your attention to the following:

For those Materials owned by LDF, your use of the Material outside the Site is solely for one or more of the following (the “Permitted Purposes”):

Non-commercial research and private study;
Teaching, scholarship and instruction (including distance learning);
Non-commercial print and non-commercial online use;
Criticism, comment or news reporting; or
For people with visual disabilities (See Section 121 of the Copyright Act).
For those Materials not owned by LDF you understand that:
- It is your responsibility to determine whether the way you plan to use the materials falls within the copyright exception of Fair Use.
- For any use outside of Fair Use, it is your responsibility to seek and obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders.

LDF hereby grants you the right to use LDF owned Materials for the Permitted Purposes without seeking further permission from LDF.

If you publish or redistribute any Materials (including excerpts and quotes), you must include a credit line and/or proper citation to the source of the Material. However, you may not use the name of LDF in any manner which creates any false association between you and LDF or that incorrectly implies any sponsorship or endorsement of you by LDF.

NOTICE: Uses that do not comply with these Terms or that do not fall under Fair Use (or another exception) may make you liable for copyright infringement.

Read the full LDF Archival Collection Terms of Use Here.

I agree to the terms and conditions for use of this content.

If you would like to use this content in other ways, contact us at .

Collection
- Press Releases
Creator
- LDF
Taxonomy
Identifier
- 621321b5-b592-ee11-be37-00224827e97b

Cite this item

Press Releases, Volume 2. First Local Y.M.C.A. Sued for Racial Bias, 1965. 621321b5-b592-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/514faa6b-6ff6-4773-8db1-4786c3aee879/first-local-ymca-sued-for-racial-bias. Accessed November 23, 2025.

Copied!

10 Columbus Circle
New York, N.Y. 10019 Z
JUdson 6.8397 jee

NAACP

Legal Defense and Educational Fund
PRESS RELEASE FOR RELEASE

PDE AllauKnisht Chalmers ee usesy February 20, 1965

Associate Counsel

Coretance Bake Motley
FIRST LOCAL Y.M.C.A.
SUED FOR RACIAL BIAS

Legal Defense Fund Attorneys Cite Civil Rights Act

CHARLOTTE, N.C.---In the first legal action against a YMCA, the

NAACP Legal Defense Fund moved against what it alleges to be

"discrimination" in the policies and practices of the Charlotte

Young Men's Chstetian Association (YMCA).

The complaint was filed with the U.S. District Court for the

Western District of North Carolina, today (February 19, 1965).

The litigation is of an ususual nature. In spite of its

generally favorable national reputation, a local branch of the YMCA

is having charges of racial discrimination leveled against its

operation for the first time.

Also, the complaint seeks to bring the public and private

facilities of a membership organization under the control of the

public accommodations section of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The Legal Defense Fund is acting on a complaint by Thomas

Lassister, of Kansas City, Mo., and Dr. Reginald A. Hawkins, Sr. and

his son, Reginald, Jr., of Charlotte.

Contacted in New York, a source at the YMCA's National Council,

who asked not to be quoted by name, confirmed the fact that there

is widespread discrimination in the South's network of YMCA branches.

He explained that the National Council of the YMCA, primarily

a service operation, has a clearly stated policy against any kind of

discrimination.

However, the National Council is dependent on various

autonomous branches for financial support.

NONETHELESS, NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorney, J. LeVonne

Chambers, of Charlotte, has charged the Charlotte YMCA with

discriminating against Negroes seeking “enjoyment of the services,

facilities, privileges, advantages and accommodations" of the branch,

The complaint names YMCA officials J. Caldwell McDonaid ‘ Geosge E.
mmons.

Jesse DeVore, Jr., Director of Public Information—Night Number 212 Rlverside 9-8487 Se 3)

First Local YMCA February 20, 1965

Sued For Racial Bias

All of the plaintiffs have accused the YMCA of various "jim

crow" actions or denial of service on the part of the YMCA, They

claim there is one "Y" for colored and another "Y" for white,

Kee

The Federal District Court has not set a date for a hearing.

This is the second complaint or racial discrimination filed

in behalf of Dr, Reginald Hawkins in recent months. Presently, he is

awaiting a decision from the 4th District Court of Appeals on his

request to be admitted to the all white North Carolina Dental

Society. Legal Defense Fund Director-Counsel, Jack Greenberg argued

the case before the Court.

In connection with his civil rights activities, Dr. Hawkins

was named "Dentist of the Year" by the National Dental Association,

a predominately Negro group.

Other Legal Defense Fund attorneys representing the plaintiffs

are Conrad 0, Pearson, Durham, N.C., Thomas H,. Wyche, Charlotte, and

Mr. Greenberg and Michael Meltsner, New York City.

Copyright notice

This collection and the tools to navigate it (the “Collection”) are available to the public for general educational and research purposes, as well as to preserve and contextualize the history of the content and materials it contains (the “Materials”). Like other archival collections, such as those found in libraries, LDF owns the physical source Materials that have been digitized for the Collection; however, LDF does not own the underlying copyright or other rights in all items and there are limits on how you can use the Materials. By accessing and using the Material, you acknowledge your agreement to the Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Materials.

Additional info

To the extent that LDF includes information about the Materials’ origins or ownership or provides summaries or transcripts of original source Materials, LDF does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy of such information, transcripts or summaries, and shall not be responsible for any inaccuracies.

First Local Y.M.C.A. Sued for Racial Bias

Collection

Creator

Taxonomy

Identifier

Cite this item

Copyright notice

Additional info

You may also be interested in