War Work Campaign – The Arkansas Colored Auxiliary Council: Black Activism during World War I, 1917-1918

“Scipio Jones to Give 200 to War Fund Drive,” Arkansas Democrat

The Arkansas Democrat, 1918 November 8, states that Scipio Jones was giving $200 of his own money to the war fund drive on top of what he had already given. Scipio Jones was an influential black attorney and community leader that served as the State Chairman of the Colored Auxiliary Council where he was tasked with organizing and running the council’s agenda.

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“Colored Patriots of Arkansas, Attention!,” Arkansas Democrat

This article from the Arkansas Democrat, 1918 November 2, showcases the different black leaders who worked with the Council of Defense on the Colored Auxiliary Council. The leaders of the community were trying to raise a minimum of $400,000 dollars during the month of November. The Auxiliary Council had its first meeting on August 10, 1918 and by November the committee was working hard to rise money for the war effort.

“Colored People and the War Work Campaign,” Arkansas Democrat

This article from the Arkansas Democrat, 1918 October 23, details the black communities’ work on the War Campaign for the Colored Auxiliary Council. The Council wanted to raise $400,00 on behalf of the African American population. Prior to the advent of the Colored Auxiliary Council, the work of the black community in Arkansas was counted with the rest of the Arkansas population, but after this point, the donations were to be keep separated.

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Monthly Report, November 1918

Monthly Report for the activities of the Colored Auxiliary Council by P.L. Dorman. Dorman is discussing the different counties in which he is scheduling engagements to talk about the work of the Council of Defense.

Source: Arkansas State Council of Defense, MS.000490, ASA_CouncilDefense_MS490_08_20_16, Arkansas State Archives, Little Rock, Arkansas

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Monthly Report, September 1918

This document is one of the Monthly Reports on the activities of the Colored Auxiliary Council by P.L. Dorman. Dorman is reporting on his travels to remote areas of Arkansas where many Black communities were isolated from the wider population of Arkansas. He points out that this isolation often limited their ability to get information about the war. Dorman states that the counties he visited had the highest number of deserters due to a lack of receiving the right information not from unpatriotic behavior.

Source: Arkansas State Council of Defense, MS.000490, ASA_CouncilDefense_MS490_08_20_11, Arkansas State Archives, Little Rock, Arkansas