“As a worldwide organization, since 1922 Rotary International has required all new clubs to adopt the standard club constitution, which has no restrictions concerning race. A constitution and bylaws dated 1932 are the earliest in The Wilmington Rotary Club’s archives. Despite the pervasive and official racial segregation of the time, these documents say only that membership is open to “adult male persons of good character and good business or professional reputation.” Race is never mentioned. Nevertheless, the Wilmington club remained all-white until the 1980's. The race issue surfaced nationally in 1982 when the editor of The Birmingham Post-Herald proposed changing his Rotary club’s explicitly whites-only charter. In a secret vote, the Birmingham club voted 120-90 to continue the ban. The editor resigned in protest. When the news got out, RI acted promptly, declaring that “racial discrimination has no place in Rotary” and banning “any club from limiting membership in the club on the basis of race, color, creed or national origin.” The Birmingham club, threatened with having its charter revoked, agreed by voice vote of 200 to 1 to permit non-white members.”
How has diversity and inclusion evolved in RI and D5950?
Posted by Catherine Gump (Edina)
Historical points of reference:
1905 | Paul Harris founded the first Rotary club in Chicago. |
1910 | Club #9 in Minneapolis is the first Rotary club in what is now District 5950. |
1915-16 | Allen Albert from Mpls Club #9 was the International President of Rotary. He led the shift from a focus on business networking to “the ideals of service in community, classification, homes & churches.” |
1932 | Rotary’s Four-Way Test was created |
1978-79: | John M. Mitchell (RC Golden Valley) is elected as the first Black Governor of District 595. At the time, D595 was the fourth largest district in the world. John’s daughter, Diane Confer, would become a beloved district secretary. |
1982--83 | Districts 5950 and 5960 are established. D5950 reaches north to Alexandria and south to the Iowa border. |
1987 | US Supreme Court ruled that Rotary International had to allow clubs to accept women members. Not all clubs accepted women members. |
1990-91 | The first female club presidents served in District 5950. This included Marlene “Moe” Ott who went on to be the first female DG in 1999-2000. |
2020 | District 5950 has 65 clubs and approximately 2700 members. |
2021-22 | Marianna Khauv (Monticello) will bring her Chinese heritage to the DG role |
2022-23 | Lloyd Campbell (Glenwood) will be D5950's second Black District Governor |
It is not clear when Rotary clubs, internationally and in this district, began accepting Black members. When Rotary was chartered as an International organization, it appears they restricted membership to men but did not limit race. A Google search unearthed this history from the Rotary Club of Wilmington, NC:
“As a worldwide organization, since 1922 Rotary International has required all new clubs to adopt the standard club constitution, which has no restrictions concerning race. A constitution and bylaws dated 1932 are the earliest in The Wilmington Rotary Club’s archives. Despite the pervasive and official racial segregation of the time, these documents say only that membership is open to “adult male persons of good character and good business or professional reputation.” Race is never mentioned. Nevertheless, the Wilmington club remained all-white until the 1980's. The race issue surfaced nationally in 1982 when the editor of The Birmingham Post-Herald proposed changing his Rotary club’s explicitly whites-only charter. In a secret vote, the Birmingham club voted 120-90 to continue the ban. The editor resigned in protest. When the news got out, RI acted promptly, declaring that “racial discrimination has no place in Rotary” and banning “any club from limiting membership in the club on the basis of race, color, creed or national origin.” The Birmingham club, threatened with having its charter revoked, agreed by voice vote of 200 to 1 to permit non-white members.”