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The Links, Incorporated
Celebrating 50 years of good works in Seattle’s African American community
by Kevin Henry

On a cold, foggy morning in Seattle, 40 sharply dressed African American women who make up the Seattle Chapter of The Links, Incorporated gather in the library of the African American Academy. And while the weather outside is bone-chilling, the room radiates with warmth, laughter and sometimes giddy chatter. It is the fiftieth anniversary of this international organization that is dedicated to providing friendship and service to thousands of African American youth, adults and families. Several women at the meeting today talk about how their mothers and grandmothers who were members strongly encouraged them to join, to keep refilling the ranks of the organization. Today’s group ranges in age from mid-thirties to late seventies. Many women are professionals or retired, and while there are countless service organizations in the region, there are probably few that have created throughout their history such an intergenerational bond between members.

Originally formed in Philadelphia in 1946, the national organization now has a membership of more than 10,000 women organized into 274 chapters. The Seattle Chapter, founded on December 9, 1955, boasts some 100 past and present members, some of whom are seated in horseshoe fashion at today’s meeting being presided over by current president Juli Farris Desper.

After standing and reciting The Links pledge, which speaks of the meaning of friendship and community service, various members talk about their involvement and memories of the past 50 years. A full agenda eventually touches on the upcoming yearly fundraiser, “An Evening of Enchantment,” co-sponsored by Nordstrom and held at the Washington State Convention Center December 3. This fundraiser benefits students in the greater Seattle area and in the past has on average generated nearly $100,000 in donations.

Over the years, 130,000-plus hours of volunteer service have been logged by Greater Seattle Links members, allowing the organization to award over $950,000 in scholarships. The 2005 “Evening of Enchantment” event was expected to raise more than $200,000 for scholarships and community service programs. Another event celebrating the organization’s 50-year anniversary, “A Night to Remember,” was held last winter at the Museum of Flight and featured Dr. Mae C. Jemison, the first African American female astronaut to go into space, as the keynote speaker.

The Links, Inc. has been honored with several awards, including “Seattle Salutes The Links” from the Mayor of Seattle; the Social Action Service Award, from the Seattle Council of Churches; and the Regional Service Award from the United Negro College Fund. These kinds of accolades are not surprising given the impact and legacy of The Links, Inc. For proof, pick up the 89-page History of the Greater Seattle Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, 1955-2005 by Turkiya L. Lowe, which illuminates an impressive history that began with 11 members in 1955.

Links charter members have seen many changes in the world and their community. In the 1950s and 1960s, the African American community was segregated into a small area known as the Central District. During that time, African Americans were victimized by racism and social injustice in various ways, and employment and educational opportunities were limited. The community needed to band together professionally and socially, and to create a system of interdependence. Back then, there was no Nordstrom lending support. Assistance with education and building self-esteem was essential, as was the support of prominent African Americans, especially for youth who had few role models to emulate. In the early sixties, The Links, Inc. sponsored performances and appearances by such celebrities as African American opera singer Marian Anderson and singer Lou Rawls.

As segregation diminished, African Americans began to move to different areas of Seattle, but the bonds of friendship forged through The Links, Inc. never wavered. The social turbulence of the civil rights era in the late sixties and early seventies only strengthened The Links’ dedication to meeting the personal, economic and social needs of the community.

The organization’s service work is oriented toward the arts, youth, and national and international trends. The Seattle chapter supports programs proposed by the national headquarters but also creates its own programs. Examples of the chapter’s commitment to service include its 14-year collaboration with the Junior League of Seattle to provide 12,000 bags of personal items on Mother’s Day for mothers living in shelters. Each year the chapter makes an annual pledge to the United Negro College Fund to help disadvantaged youth obtain college educations, and their pledge of $1 million was completed last year. Also, the national organization of The Links, Inc. pledged $1 million to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and was able to complete that pledge last year with help from the Seattle chapter.

Members of the chapter have also helped educate students about teenage pregnancy and substance and alcohol abuse through a series of workshops. Each year, an outstanding female student who exemplifies extraordinary leadership and dedication to the enhancement of the community is awarded the Links Legacy Scholarship.
Desper, the current Seattle chapter president, emphasizes that The Links, Inc. is about “forming relationships with people,” as much as it is “about passing out money.” The 45-year-old Seattle attorney says she honored her mother’s dying request to join the group. “These women were role models to me when I was growing up,” she says. Other prominent African American women, such as former Links member and broadcaster Micki Flowers, had an effect on her as well. “She was one of the first black women I saw on television that wasn’t an entertainer. She reminded me of me. Role models like that balance out the often negative stereotypes of African Americans.”

Today, Desper’s main challenge is controlling the energy in the room and keeping on track with the full agenda. Although the mood is buoyant, she admits that the group must continue to grow technologically – updating and refining its Web site is one goal – as well as sustain momentum given the amount of time the women can commit to the group.
“This is an all-volunteer organization,” says former chapter president Marion Sutherland. “It can be 10-hour days, five days a week.” No one knows this better than Sutherland, who joined the group in 1965 and was national president in the 1990s.

The mission of the organization keeps volunteers going, and children are a priority. Founding member Guela Gayton Johnson remembers programs that increased the self-esteem of African American children. “During the civil rights era we had the Black is Beautiful program, spelling bees and were involved in social issues.” Johnson also says children were taken to concerts, art exhibits and museums.

The emphasis on youth has particularly benefited the African American Academy, an alternative school formed in 1991 that focuses on the contributions of African Americans in American history. In 2001, The Links, Inc. implemented its Adopt a School Program and formed the Friends of the African American Academy (FOAAA). Programs included workshops that focused on leadership, goal setting, mentoring and scholarships for students. Career workshops were also part of the program. Providing financial support and getting more parents and community members involved in Academy activities was another priority.

Despite its accomplishments, The Links, Incorporated does not get a great deal of media attention. Vivian Caver, a founding member whose daughter, Adrienne Caver-Hall, is also a member, says there’s a general feeling in the African American community that the media focuses on the negative realities of African American culture, such as crime and incarceration rates or the antics of entertainers and athletes, rather than on the good works of groups like The Links. Nevertheless, Caver’s passion for the work of the group is not dampened.

The efforts of The Links, Inc., Caver says, are supported by churches like Mt. Zion Baptist Church and First AME. Historically, the black church has provided a social and spiritual foundation for the African American community. Many Links members are active in the close-knit church community which has contributed to social causes and even fueled political activism. The Links, Inc. and the churches have often worked together on various projects. In 2006, The Links, Inc. Seattle Chapter will continue to work on raising funds for the John Henry Stanford Scholarship which is awarded to an outstanding African American male student, and the Arts Scholarship program, which has benefited local talent, such as renowned artist and writer Barbara Earl Thomas, and Quinton I. Morris, violinist for the group The Young Eight. The organization also recently received a grant from the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer prevention and awareness programs for African American women. In addition, the chapter has started a walking and fitness program for its members, part of a Links, Inc. national health initiative. The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center will help monitor participants’ progress.

How has The Links, Inc. endured when other civic organizations have suffered from diminished impact, decreasing membership or disappeared altogether? “Friendship and service,” Johnson says with emphasis. “We support each other and we have been there for each other over the years, through all kinds of things; marriages, babies, personal issues, all kinds of changes.”

For more information about Seattle Chapter of The Links, Incorporated, visit www.linksinc-seattle.org.

Kevin Henry is the cultural diversity officer for the City of Bellevue and the host of Voices of Diversity on KBCS-FM, 91.3. He lives in Seattle.

©2006 Caliope Publishing Company