Good Neighbors: Ready to Serve

America's involvement in World War I stimulated the growth of American Red Cross chapters across the country. The Red Cross encouraged people of all races to support the organization by serving their local communities, and special chapter branches were created. In the South, Red Cross chapters were segregated as were most institutions and organizations.

Volunteers at the Booker T. Washington Branch, Tampa, Florida (1924)

Volunteers at the Booker T. Washington Branch, Tampa, Florida (1924)

The American Red Cross offered a variety of health and safety training classes through its local chapters at locations across the country. African Americans supported these classes through instruction and enrollment. In l924, 124 women living in the Tampa area were trained in Home Hygiene and Care of the Sick by the Booker T. Washington Branch of the Tampa Chapter. In addition, a total of 140 dedicated volunteers provided a variety of services to the community, which included ex-servicemen and their families. Branch representatives also participated in the National Negro Health Week to promote the work of the American Red Cross in the African American community.

Production Auxiliary of Louisville, Kentucky (1925)

Production Auxiliary of Louisville, Kentucky (1925)

The Red Cross Courier featured articles that described the activities of the American Red Cross on the local, national, and international levels. Branches or auxiliaries developed alongside the main chapters in the South, where segregation was a fact of life. The staff and volunteers of these branches were highly dedicated. The August 15, l925, edition of the Courier featured a story about the Production Auxiliary workers of the Louisville Chapter. "The enthusiasm of the group is always close to l00 percent and no Red Cross service which its members can do need ever go without being performed, for to ask these colored people is to receive a ready and anxious response in any line of duty."