Ozzie Fletcher, Ron Howell

Description

Connection to Weeksville: Ozzie Fletcher and Ron Howell are members of the black men’s fraternal organization, The Comus Club. Ozzie Fletcher was a law enforcement official in Brooklyn for many years. Ron Howell is married to the daughter of a close friend of Mr. Fletcher’s, George Henry. Ozzie Fletcher has been a member of the Comus Club since the 1960s. He was introduced to the club by Les Hamilton, an early member of Comus and one of the few black superintendents in the Immigration Department. The Comus Club began in 1922 as a strictly social organization for middle and upper-middle class blacks in Brooklyn. The club was restricted, according to Fletcher, to light-skinned members: “All of the Comus Club members, most of them could pass for white, and they did, some of them did.” (p.2 of transcript, 5:58-7:00 on recording) Fletcher recounts that some early members West Indians were not allowed in the club until 1937.

Record Contributed By

Weeksville Heritage Center