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Club History
"Be strong, We are not here to play.
To dream, to drift; We have hard work to do and
loads to lift; Shun not the struggle, face it,
'Tis God's gift."
These challenging words, later adopted as the Club's motto, were spoken to a small group of business and professional women by the late Sarah J. Holbert in the early Fall of 1954. Mrs. Holbert was an elementary school teacher who had high ideals about things in general and many worthy ideas about what the purpose of a business and professional women's club should be. Mrs. Holbert felt that a club in the southern section of Dallas would be appropriate because Black people were migrating from the northern section of Dallas to the southern section in large numbers, joining a large concentration of Blacks who already lived in the area.
Mrs. Marie L. Harrison, National President, gave the South Dallas group permission to organize. Charter members of the South Dallas Club included: Mrs. Alberta Blair, Sue W. Boyd, Johnny Buchanan, Gwendolyn Simon, V. Alyce Foster, Sarah J. Holbert, Frankie C. Hurdle, Leola V. White, Mary Faye Jones, Juanita Lay, Gladys Richardson, Christine Simmons, Maxine Shelton, A. Ruth Smith, Claudia Slaughter and Mabel White
The first club officers were Sarah J. Holbert, President; Alberta Blair, 1st Vice president; V. Alyce Foster, 2nd Vice President; A. Ruth Smith, 3rd Vice President; Frankie C. Hurdle, Recording Secretary; Gladys Richardson, Corresponding Secretary; Sue Boyd, Financial Secretary; Claudia Slaughter, Treasurer; Minnie Metoyer, Parliamentarian.
The South Dallas Business and Professional Women's Club, Inc. was formally introduced to Dallas January 1, 1956 at their first Yuletide Reception, which received 300 guests in the home of Dr. & Mrs. L. L. Smith (club sister).
The Club's first Constitution and Bylaws were written and printed in 1956.
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