DePorres Club facts for kids

The DePorres Club was an important group in Omaha, Nebraska that worked for civil rights. Their actions helped show the way for other groups fighting for fairness across the nation in the 1960s. The club was connected to a bigger group called the CORE.

History of the DePorres Club

The DePorres Club started in 1947. It was formed by African American high school students and white college students. They worked with Father John Markoe from Creighton University, a Catholic school in Omaha.

Early Goals and Challenges

At first, the club wanted to make relations better between different races at Creighton University. They were named after Martin de Porres, a saint from Peru. He became a saint in 1962.

Within a year, the DePorres Club started to do more. They began to challenge racism in Omaha. A club member named Bertha Calloway (who later started the Great Plains Black History Museum) said the group specifically targeted several businesses. These businesses were not hiring Black workers. Some of these places included Reid’s Ice Cream, the Coca-Cola bottling plant, Dignotti’s Doughnut Shop, Harry’s Tea Club, the Greyhound Bus station, the Hotel Fontenelle, the Paxton Hotel, and Eppley Air Field.

Moving Off Campus and First Protests

The group used to meet at Creighton University. But their work became too controversial, and they were asked to leave the campus. Mildred Brown, who published the Omaha Star newspaper and was a friend to the community, offered her newspaper's office for the club to meet.

In 1948, about 30 members of the DePorres Club held their first "sit-in." This happened at a restaurant near the Douglas County Courthouse in Downtown Omaha. When the group arrived, the owner said that white customers would stop coming if Black people were served. The group stayed until the owner agreed to serve African American customers.

The Club also asked people to stop using the Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway Company. This was because the company treated Black people unfairly and had poor service in the Near North Side neighborhood. This happened four years before the famous Montgomery bus boycott in Alabama.

Other Activities and Growth

Besides their protests, the DePorres Club also held many other activities. They organized events to raise money, and they had their own dances and picnics. They also helped poor families by painting their houses and doing other tasks.

In the years that followed, the club opened a community center called the Omaha DePorres Center. This center helped low-income families. The DePorres Club even started new branches in Denver and Kansas City.

See also

• Timeline of the civil rights movement in Omaha, Nebraska
• History of North Omaha, Nebraska
• History of Omaha, Nebraska