African Americans and the YWCA of Brooklyn

When the Brooklyn YWCA was founded in 1888, it admitted women of all ethnic and racial backgrounds on an equal basis. At the turn of the century, however, like many other institutions across the country, the Brooklyn "Y" instituted segregation in its activities and residence halls. Although the "colored" YWCA was opened at the request of African American ministers and others in the community, the women affected objected. The Ashland Place association was established in 1903, first on Lexington Avenue, after white homeowners strongly protested establishment  of a "colored" Association on Lafayette Avenue. The branch moved to its first building on Ashland Place (#45) in 1919, and later to 221 Ashland Place.

When the National Board of the YWCA was formed in 1906 from the merger of the International Board of Women's and Young Women's Christian Associations and the American Committee of Young Women's Christian Associations, four existing African American associations (Washington, DC, Baltimore, Brooklyn and New York City) were accepted as member associations. Over the next few years, the new organization discussed its race policy and the concerns of white women in southern associations that "were afraid that they might be forced to share facilities with African American women at local and national meetings." By 1910, the National Board had determined that if possible "colored" associations should be a branch of a central "white" association (thus Ashland Place became a branch); if there was not a white association, an independent colored association could be formed.

By 1937 the new Executive director of Ashland Place, Anna Hedgeman, was actively involved in efforts to increase employment opportunities for young women of color, many of whom were college students. One such effort centered around trying to convince a local "ten-cent store" (in an African American neighborhood) to hire African American clerks. Hedgeman organized a picket line. Although it was unsuccessful, she continued to work toward improving employment options. When department stores  advertised on the Brooklyn College campus for clerks during the Christmas holidays, Hedgeman worked with white and African American women in the Federation of Protestant Churches (as well as the Brooklyn Urban League and the NAACP) to persuade the stores to hire African American clerks. It took a campaign of economic pressure from the women and their large charge accounts to effect change, but it worked.