Assembly of the Lincoln League of Tennessee, The league was founded by Robert R. Church, Jr., Church Auditorium, Beale St., Memphis TN - Circa 1916
"Lincoln League of Tennessee" Church Family Papers
The Lincoln League was the name taken by a number of Republican Party-affiliated clubs in the United States, named for President Abraham Lincoln. Among the most famous of the leagues was one organized in 1916 by Robert Church Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee.
Tennessee Lincoln League
The Tennessee Lincoln League was established by Robert Church Jr. in 1916 and advocated for African American interests in the Republican Party. Church recruited various business leaders to join the group including T. H. Hayes, J. B. Martin, Levoy McCoy, Bert M. Roddy, and Josiah T. Settle. The Lincoln League worked to secure patronage (government jobs doled out by party leaders) and advocated for policies against lynching, fire protection, police services, parks, and schools. The group also raised money to pay poll taxes so African Americans could vote and supported voter education at night schools, promoted candidates, and held fundraisers. The group leveraged African American voters and solidarity to deliver political involvement, influence, and government funding to benefit the African American community. The group also advocated for representation, rights, safety, and recognition for African Americans in the Republican Party.
Organized in Memphis, the group held meetings in Church Park Auditorium on Beale Street, an African American-owned venue. The group's success expanded to various cities and towns in Tennessee as well as to cities in other states. The Lincoln League took to the national stage with the development of the Lincoln League of America and a national meeting was held in Chicago in February, 1920. According to the Tennessee Encyclopedia, the Lincoln League contributed to later Civil Rights movements by promoting African American racial solidarity.
In Robert R. Church Jr.’s time, black vote winning was a grass-roots grind. Church never held public office. His power and prestige grew from the Lincoln League, founded to educate and register African-American voters. He had started off locally, with headquarters on Memphis' legendary Beale Street. During the same years that blues composer W.C. Handy led a black takeover of American popular music from Beale, Church plotted a similar revolution in politics. In Memphis elections, Church developed a tiebreaker strategy. His coalition lacked the numbers to win an office outright, but city mayoral races typically came down to the open Democratic primary. In a toss-up between white Democrats, Church’s 10,000 black voters could tip the balance of power and decide an election. Look familiar?
In a smoky room, Church dealt his support in exchange for black community upgrades. A compromise, but in Southern-style realpolitik, a preferable alternative to African-Americans' having no influence at all. Church would leverage a black presence on the police force, improved parks, playgrounds and streets in black neighborhoods, and newly built schools and healthcare facilities for African-American citizens of Memphis.
The Lincoln League enlisted women to teach voting classes in every black church or fellowship hall in every black neighborhood in Memphis. Voting school instructors made weekly reports to headquarters, specifying the number of new voters trained. Weekly rallies attracted thousands. The League grew statewide and expanded into New Orleans and Chicago branches, site of the League’s 1920 national convention, when Church invited white GOP figures to attend and witness the power.
As of that year’s election, no former Confederate state had gone for the party of Lincoln since 1876 — 11 states, 10 elections. Church’s home state of Tennessee had gone conservative in every election since 1868.
Church sent campaigners door-to-door like salesmen to register African-American voters and get them to the polls. A League speakers’ bureau dispersed loquacious volunteers at the neighborhood level to invigorate voters. “Now there were some groups that if you sent a man there with too much polish he couldn’t get away with it,” recalled Lincoln Leaguer Herbert Brewster. “They wanted you to come down to earth and talk street talk.”
They adapted, and made sure to send out the right orator to suit the climate. Lincoln League electioneers went out in loudspeaker-equipped automobiles to set up outside factories at lunch hour.
Assembly of the Lincoln League of Tennessee, The league was founded by Robert R. Church, Jr., Church Auditorium, Beale St., Memphis TN - Circa 1916
"Lincoln League of Tennessee" Church Family Papers
The Lincoln League was the name taken by a number of Republican Party-affiliated clubs in the United States, named for President Abraham Lincoln. Among the most famous of the leagues was one organized in 1916 by Robert Church Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee.
Tennessee Lincoln League
The Tennessee Lincoln League was established by Robert Church Jr. in 1916 and advocated for African American interests in the Republican Party. Church recruited various business leaders to join the group including T. H. Hayes, J. B. Martin, Levoy McCoy, Bert M. Roddy, and Josiah T. Settle. The Lincoln League worked to secure patronage (government jobs doled out by party leaders) and advocated for policies against lynching, fire protection, police services, parks, and schools. The group also raised money to pay poll taxes so African Americans could vote and supported voter education at night schools, promoted candidates, and held fundraisers. The group leveraged African American voters and solidarity to deliver political involvement, influence, and government funding to benefit the African American community. The group also advocated for representation, rights, safety, and recognition for African Americans in the Republican Party.
Organized in Memphis, the group held meetings in Church Park Auditorium on Beale Street, an African American-owned venue. The group's success expanded to various cities and towns in Tennessee as well as to cities in other states. The Lincoln League took to the national stage with the development of the Lincoln League of America and a national meeting was held in Chicago in February, 1920. According to the Tennessee Encyclopedia, the Lincoln League contributed to later Civil Rights movements by promoting African American racial solidarity.
In Robert R. Church Jr.’s time, black vote winning was a grass-roots grind. Church never held public office. His power and prestige grew from the Lincoln League, founded to educate and register African-American voters. He had started off locally, with headquarters on Memphis' legendary Beale Street. During the same years that blues composer W.C. Handy led a black takeover of American popular music from Beale, Church plotted a similar revolution in politics. In Memphis elections, Church developed a tiebreaker strategy. His coalition lacked the numbers to win an office outright, but city mayoral races typically came down to the open Democratic primary. In a toss-up between white Democrats, Church’s 10,000 black voters could tip the balance of power and decide an election. Look familiar?
In a smoky room, Church dealt his support in exchange for black community upgrades. A compromise, but in Southern-style realpolitik, a preferable alternative to African-Americans' having no influence at all. Church would leverage a black presence on the police force, improved parks, playgrounds and streets in black neighborhoods, and newly built schools and healthcare facilities for African-American citizens of Memphis.
The Lincoln League enlisted women to teach voting classes in every black church or fellowship hall in every black neighborhood in Memphis. Voting school instructors made weekly reports to headquarters, specifying the number of new voters trained. Weekly rallies attracted thousands. The League grew statewide and expanded into New Orleans and Chicago branches, site of the League’s 1920 national convention, when Church invited white GOP figures to attend and witness the power.
As of that year’s election, no former Confederate state had gone for the party of Lincoln since 1876 — 11 states, 10 elections. Church’s home state of Tennessee had gone conservative in every election since 1868.
Church sent campaigners door-to-door like salesmen to register African-American voters and get them to the polls. A League speakers’ bureau dispersed loquacious volunteers at the neighborhood level to invigorate voters. “Now there were some groups that if you sent a man there with too much polish he couldn’t get away with it,” recalled Lincoln Leaguer Herbert Brewster. “They wanted you to come down to earth and talk street talk.”
They adapted, and made sure to send out the right orator to suit the climate. Lincoln League electioneers went out in loudspeaker-equipped automobiles to set up outside factories at lunch hour.