National Urban League

The League grew out of the 1911 consolidation of the Committee on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, the National League for the Protection of Colored Women and the Committee for Improving Industrial Conditions of Negroes in New York. Wood was secretary of the Executive Board of NUL (1913-­1914) and President from 1915 to 1941.

[see: "The National Urban League 1910-­1940," by Nancy J. Weiss, E185.5 N33 W44 (note: Weiss cites Wood papers); "The Urban League Movement" by L. Hollingsworth Wood, in Journal of Negro History, 1924, vol. IX, pp. 117-­126 (and letter of E. K. Jones, p. 232-­233, elaborating on Wood's contribution to NUL)]

Topics include meetings, fund­raising, plans to consolidate work of several organizations [forming Urban League, Wood is on consolidation committee, 1911], unsatisfactory work of Houstoun as field secretary, make­up of first National Urban League executive committee, "suitable" work available to Black Americans [see Pratt to Wood, 12/23/1911], plan of work for fellows of the NUL (1912). Also, criticism of Haynes as too theoretical and academic by Frissell and others, suitability of various persons for positions in NUL, confidential proposal from NAACP for a "National Race Commission" (1913, with accompanying letter of Oswald Garrison Villard to Ruth S. Baldwin [in Baldwin folder]). Also, possibility of adding Booker T. Washington to Executive Board (1914), joint conference in Memphis with NAACP (1914), "A Plan for Improving City Conditions Among Negroes" and "Brief Statement of the Work of the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes" (with letter of Julius Rosenwald, 6/30/1914). Training center for Black social and religious workers at Nashville, financial problems, Roger Baldwin's statement on work of the League (in Oct. 1914), salary of George Haynes, "Co­operation for Community Betterment" by James R. Anderson (Nov. 1916), work in Nashville by Haynes, controversy over Mowbray (of Fisk) going to Chicago (1916). The bulk of the correspondence is with Ruth Standish Baldwin (note: letters of RSB are found throughout the correspondence folders, additionally Wood has put together a folder of correspondence with RSB), Eugene Kinckle Jones and George Edmund Haynes.