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Club Histories. Industrial Clubs. Texarkana, TX (African American), 1943-1946.

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The United Service Organizations (USO) was formed in the months before the United States entered World War II by a coalition of six civilian agencies to coordinate their civilian war efforts, including the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). The YMCA and other welfare agencies had already been seeking ways to serve the morale needs of the increasing number of young men entering military training. With the September 1940 enactment of the Selective Service and Training Act, the military buildup accelerated, but the federal government had no plan for the provision of recreation facilities and activities in training camp communities. In January, 1941, the USO was incorporated to provide religious, recreational, welfare, and educational activities for men and women in the armed forces and in the defense industries.Materials in this collection include club histories and photographs of both Army/Navy and industrial USOs, administrative files, information on associated organizations, miscellaneous records of individual USO clubs, and print materials, with a focus on industrial clubs for African Americans, which were run as separate facilities. At the time, these USOs were known as ""negro"" clubs. The club histories comprise the bulk of collection; an official history was created for each USO club at its closing, which includes board minutes, newspaper clippings and other information about the organization. Administrative records in the collection include reports, memoranda, correspondence, and topical files.
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