ONE-HALF of the Board WAS NOT PRESENT when the decision was passed to close the Grove Street Branch of the YWCA

Most members were stunned when they heard the news of the closing of the Grove Street Branch. They feel that it is unfair to them that they were not notified of the Board's intention to vote on this decision. Therefore, many people feel that it was RAILROADED through rather than exploring all the possibilities.

participating Membership this fall has been 84% for the Grove Street Branch.

v~ Since January, 25,750 people have used the "Y" on Grove Street. Approximately ' 12,500 of these participated in the swimming program. In _spite of the fact that this building has had few capital improvements, the membership has steadily increased.

Membership Fees; $3.50 ;  1.50 ;  $1.00

The fees have been kept unusually low. If financial problems were uppermost in the. Board's mind, it would have seemed only feasible to increase the fees over the past few years. The Board has been reluctant to do this.

The Y.W.C.A. on Grove Street was built in 1924. The building is in good shape for its age; but, like any building, needs to be remodeled from time to time. A new heating system was installed last year for the pool. It is an old pool, but it is adequate. Even though future plans call for an outdoor pool and a gymnasium, building costs would probably prohibit replacing the space presently involved at Grove Street, , No pool should be built less than Olympic size- these days.

The program on Grove Street is well planned to meet the needs of Asheville and surrounding areas. The schedule has been worked out to accommodate mothers, children, and working girls.

The "Y" on Grove Street sends instructors out to communities when there is enough demand for the different classes.

The SLIMNASTICS CLASS has always been a very successful class.

All swimming classes are taught by certified Red Cross water safety instructors.

ALL PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES TAKE PLACE AT THE GROVE STREET "Y", as there is no pool or gym at South French Broad.

nT.

We do not see how all these programs could possibly be offered in one building. Some of the program would have to be dropped, even if South French Broad had a swimming pool and, a gym.

We can't afford to WASTE a community resource in which we already have a usable physical plant .

South French Broad does not serve the community in health education, but it does serve as a place for young people.

Grove Street serves a great many people

The programs of both units complement each other because they serve two different interests.

A comparison is irrelevant because each "Y" serves such very differing needs of the community. •

WE NEED BOTH UNITS

You were telling me a few days ago about the letter you received from the Attorney General's office and that you had sent me a copy of that letter. Could it be that it got lost in the mails? I have not received it. Please be so kind as to send me another copy*

Asheville, North Carolina 28801

Dear Mrs. Caldwe11;

Enclosed is statement for professional services for the survey of the Grove Street properties and the division between the two lots.

Considering the complexity of the job, I do feel that the statement, is reasonable and I do recommend prompt payment.

Sincerely yours,

Jan M.. Wiegman

Enclosure

Mr. Jan Wiegman C/o Wiegman-Hall 291 Merrimon Ave< Asheville, I. C.

Dear Mr. Wiegman;

28801

Res YWCA Building 13 Grove Street

Asheville, 1", C.

I noticed the publicity and picture for the Newfound School at IS Grove Street with surprise in the paper yesterday. I remembered our appointment with yourself and Mrs. Folckemer and Mrs. Glllum at 4:30 P.M. April 6, 1971 at which time we inspected both buildings and discussed needs and prices starting with the $100,000 which the directors hoped to realize from both buildings and trying to lead the two ladies to firm up their requirements so that you could get from the directors an indication of price for the one building.

It was I who advanced the idea of the swimming program of the Y continuing with the school in the building as a help both with the purchaser and seller. When we had decided that the building at 13 Grove Street was what they needed and it was practical to cooperate in the swimming program the ladies said that they would like to lease a period of time and this you agreed to carry to the directors of the YW.

Immediately thereafter you conveyed to me the thinking of the directors that they would not consider a lease and a sale only for cash. That in their opinion the financial condition of the proposed school was not stable enough for further negotiation. At this time, too, we discussed in detail an exclusive listing arrangement with myself and a sales commission of 6fo to be paid by the YW if we sold the property with an override so that any selling broker could also get Q% comr mission by cooperating. We were to firm this up in contract form after the next directors meeting.

When I heard nothing further I later contacted you again and at this time was informed that Duckworth now had a sales contract with a financially reliable group, also intending to start a school, and was working .-out financing. I suggest that this was very difficult and rather than lose a sale for this type property, if necessary, the YW should consider some part in the financing themselves.

I asked Mrs. B'olckemer this morning why they had felt it necessary to make their offer through Duckworth Company rather than myself and she said that they would much prefer at the time we were talking a lease and when I conveyed to her the attitude of the directors in regard to leasing or selling they determined to try further. They were trying to locate and for building through Backworth Company when the YWCA building was mentioned again. She told them that she was unable to get any price for lease or sale and at this point Mr. Smith at Duckworth Company started working with you and she says was able to get a listing, the first offered in this instance trhe was told, and negotiations proceeded from there to the closing of the sale.

My listing of the property had its inception June 19, 1970 at which time Mr. Jesse Raycailed me and said that this property would be for sale and for me to be looking for a purchaser. He suggested that I call Mrs. Carwell at the YTf and talk to her. She referred me to Judge Packer and I talked to him. He also asked me to find a purchaser or lessor and told me that Mrs, Cafrwell would show the property on request. It was Mrs. Carwell who referred me to you for the appointment and discussion of May 6,

It appears to me that my efforts secured and aroused the interest of the present purchaser to a point where the sale could be made at which time due to my agency being ignored Duckworth Company was able to enter and complete the transaction.

Two questions I would like answered; 1. Tflhy were the group represented by Mrs. Polckemer and Mrs. G-illum not financially stable enough to negotiate with when I was negotiating and still financially stable later, my notes indicate the seme month, when Duckworth Company represented them? 2. Why were neither Duckworth Company nor myself notified that we were representing the same clients in our efforts to sell the property?

Your immediate clarification of the above would be helpful. Yery truly yours,

I-ALLISOH HOWELL

The YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago did not use the kit "One Imperative:1 Eliminate Racism" because it was unrelated to where we as an association are coming from, unrelated to where the national YWCA movement is going, and inadequate as a tool for understanding and implementing the difficult task before us.

The dynamic urban setting in which this association functions has necessitated our continuous adaptation to the contemporary social revolution to remain a viable institution. As a consequence, the adoption of the one imperative at Houston merely placed in a national YWCA framework what we have long ago recognized as a thrust essential to our institutional survival. A few examples from our history will illustrate.

As long ago as 1933 we adopted a policy of becoming racially inclusive in all our activities, volunteer and professional leadership. At the present time about 50% of staff are Black women and our Executive Director was the first Black woman to become head of a social agency in Chicago.

In 1963 our Chicago association took the unique step of establishing the fulltime position of Human Relations Director at the metropolitan executive level in order to bring a new emphasis and a more effective response to the developing movement for racial justice. Assisted by an Advisory Committee, the Human Relations Department serves to interpret, coordinate, facilitate, and accelerate involvement of our total association in contemporary social change. With eight decentralized Area Centers and a Camp, whose constituency represents all the diversity of a large metropolitan community, we are able to keep in touch with emerging social crises and offer a special kind of leadership to the YWCA and

In 1966 the Human Relations Department assisted in organizing Women Mobilized for Change, a group of women from all economic and s«ci«i levels of the Metropolitan Area who felt moved to make a serious commitment to the developing Civil Rights Movement. This group continues to flourish as a catalytic agent throughout the urban and suburban areas, receiving staff and technical assistance from the YWCA. Independent, yet closely identified with the YWCA, WMC represents one of the ways bur association works with community groups in loose coalition around shared concerns. Some of the leadership of the YWCA has been drawn from this group. Soon after the Houston convention, WMC converted an old school bus .into a mobile meeting room and became that "...small Mobile Ad Hoc Task Force" suggested by the national office in one of its first post convention communications. WMC serves a model for flexibility and imagination "...empowered to plan - propose - carry out projects with a minimum of clearance and red tape, and with a membership which cuts across traditional Board -Committee - Youth - Staff - experience categories". It mobilizes its energies quickly to collaborate with and assist other community groups around common concerns.

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In the spring of 1968 aui Board of Directors adopced a policy statement that anticipated the directive given to us at Houston "...that we forge new ways in support of thrusts toward self-determined social change". Our statement was a response to the Lawndale community served by one of our Centers. It affirmed our commitment to the right of people in communities to determine their own destinies and stated that we stand behind every effort our staff and volunteer leadership makes to implement that goal. This policy became a basic guideline for the eight Area Centers in their relationship to their communities as well as that of the YWCA as a metropolitan agency in its relationship to the whole

metropolitan community. Further, it laid.the foundation for transforming the image of the YWCA away from the concept of social service as dispensing welfare to recipients towards one of assisting people at the grass roots level to effect self-determined social change. .

In early 1969 the Human Relations Department sponsored a Seminar on Dissent as a means of preparing our membership for understanding the social revolution affecting our whole society, and the way power is used to resist efforts of the oppressed to change power relationships and structures. By fall when our team attended the Racial Justice Regional Institute at Detroit, they were fully aware of the need for fundamental institutional change and on returning organized our own Institute as a parallel training session for our Board and Staff.

In July - August of 1971, the Human Relations Department sponsored an African .Study Trip to give its participants an opportunity to observe the impact of western culture on West African nations and to more fully realize the African imprint on western culture.

This past fall our Association employed a full-time Consultant for the Development of Youth Services, and with the Human Relations Consultant, a proposal was drawn up^ for a pilot project for youth tu&t would use creative art forms as a program vehicle tp interpret and communicate contemporary social issues confronting the American society. Still in the proposal stage, outside funding is being sought.

With the kind of history sketched above, it came as no surprise to the Chicago community when our Association made strong public statements about the killing of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark, members of the Black Panthers, and about

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Angela Davls and her struggle for a fair trial. Both our membership and Chicago

expect us to be involved in social justice Issues.

When the pre-convention materials arrived, the Human Relations Advisory Committee studied them carefully, and believing that our experiences in Chicago have given us valuable insights, we consciously sought to be instrumental in shaping the agenda of the Houston convention by preparing a two hour taped discussion which we sent to the national office. Our tape offered a critical analysis of the shortcomings of the proposed convention agenda with suggestions on how to make it more relevant to the current social revolution. In addition, our Human Relations Consultant worked with the Office of Racial Justice in New York helping to develop the content and provide leadership for the racial justice platform. We instituted extensive preparation and training for our delegates who took an active part in convention proceedings throughout the week and an influential part in determining its outcome.

Immediately after convention the Advisory Committee held workshops using convention material to begin the process of interpreting and understanding the meaning and all the implications of the imperative. The Chicago Conference of Black Women of the YWCA was formed as a follow-up to the Black Women's Conference held prior to the regular convention. The citywide executive and professional staff began to meet regularly to develop their consciousness of the new directions implicit in the one imperative and the reorientation this necessitated Jointly with the Executive Committee, the Advisory Committee organized a series of meetings with Edith Lerrigo to prepare our Board to understand what it means to be a YWCA at this time in history, and to assist us in dealing with the tensions already arising out of fears about the changes demanded by the new imperative. By the time the One Imperative Kit arrived in March, 1971, we had been deeply and continuously involved with efforts to find x*ays of implementing the imperative for almost a year.

The Advisory Committee made a study of the Kit, and as before, sent a taped critique to the national office. Our conclusion was that the Kit was not a useful tool since its basic assumptions were different from ours and even those of the convention. One of the most serious criticisms made was that in some ways it was dangerous, especially for .associations far removed from urban areas who may not yet understand white racism or that racism exists in their YWCA's and communities whether or not there,are any Black people present. The I.Q. test for personal racism was viewed as very dangerous as it reinforced the concept cf racism as a personal relationship problem diverting attention away frora the web of institutional power that-locks racism into all 'our social systems and institutions including.the YWCA.

Furthermore, the Kit left the impression that the elimination of racism is a kind of three year "program" that will probably be replaced by a new one at the next convention. Some of our staff who attended the Illinois statex-?ide staff conference recently confirmed that many, perhaps most of the associations represented viewed the imperative in that way. Our view of the task matches that of the convention which expressed it as "...moving ourselves and our nation from paternal tokenism to bold action in changing power relations and structures" as stated in "Reaffirmation, Renewal and Relevance" adopted at the convention. (Attached is a full report of our criticism).

We accepted the Action Audit as a useful consciousness-raising technique but abandoned the complex proceedures provided, replacing them with our own "case study" approach. In May, we asked all members of the Advisory Committee and citywide Executives Staff to participate in testing out our method and to help work out a blueprint for action.

Step two was to evolve recommendations for moving as a total association.

At the June Board meeting two staff members and two volunteers who had been participating in our preliminary study presented a full report of our experiences in identifying racism. Our committee recommended to the Board that the whole Association become involved in a continuous examination of the decision-making, administrative, personnel, financing and program processes learning to recognize how some of our basic assumptions and operations act to form racist patterns that lock us into our own "web of racism". Each member was charged with the responsibility of asking "is there evidence of racism in that--decision-action-perception-etc.?" This process has sharpened our awareness of the endemic nature of racism and the infinite, subtle forms in which it can be expressed. We are now moving as a total Association on many fronts to tighten up operations and program to conform to the intentions of the imperative and to get on to the most difficult phase of all: changing power relationships and structures both within the YWCA and outside in the larger metropolitan community. Some examples of how we have proceeded follow. i, , ' ; — ;

As a direct consequence of our appeal to the Board a "White Women's Caucus" of the Board began to meet to deal with the meaning of "whiteness" and the psychological reorientation necessary to grasp racism as a "white" problem rather than "The Black Problem" as traditionally perceived. This has been difficult and threatening for some members. Most recently the group has been exploring the meaning of "sexism" and its relationship to racism. This seems to be even more threatening.

The Chicago Conference of the Black Women of the YWCA continue to meet around agenda items appropriate to them. Two conferences - "The Black Agenda" and the "Genocide Plot" have made a significant impact on the participants and the community at large.

The citywide professional staff which continues to meet regularly, as a group and with their supportive staffs, have literally spent hundreds of

••«•»• v. . ' ' ' -

hours addressing themselves to their new task. At a weekend retreat at our Forest Beach Camp last June, they stated their goals: "to strengthen cohesiveness of staff as a group; to evaluate past and,to clarify future

program goals; to coordinate and enhance staff functioning; to identify and

'•'.f< :'

strategize around problem areas within the context of the one imperative.*,"

Area/Center activities reflect the new thrust. The downtown Center

serving working women (and some men) offers weekly noon-hour "Talk-ins" attended

i

by up to 100. They are discussion oriented examinations of American institutions and how their malfunctioning is related to racism. Examples of the range of topics: the military; prison system; Indo-China war; health care; drug abuse; welfare rights; underground church; abortion; women's liberation movement; Farm Workers Union; feminist literature; consumer rights movement; school systems; electroal politics; police repression; Chicago Indian Movement; student dissent; unemployment; drugs and foreign policy connection; witch-hunting; China; etc. A special eight week series called: Racial Justice "Chicago Style" was held in the evening and explored in depth local power systems and options for change. An outgrowth of this series was a request by some white women for a "whites only" series to better understand the meaning of white racism. The traditional cultural tours of this Center took on a new aspect to include visits to an Indian Center, Housing Project, Afro-American Museum, the Nation of Islam-restaurant, and Spanish Settlement House.

Centers in predominantly white suburban areas sharpened their programs to offer workshop experiences around urban and suburban problems and their

' " '*-.-'(' t

interrelatedness. Some topics offered: the Black experience, the White

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experience, concepts of Black Power, separatism, integration, racism, white ethnic movement, consumerism, quality of life, concepts of Women Power, . • • different life styles. Other series explored ways for women to develop new self-perceptions and to move out of their homes into the arena of social action. Further workshop training sessions in leadership skills and understanding the processes involved in systems changing are being offered at the request of participants.

Many of our Area Centers are located in communities traditionally victimized by racist power structures, and whether Black, White, or ethnically, mixed, the YWCA functions to support community people in their efforts at community development and self-determined social change. Almost everything the YWCA does in these areas is directly or indirectly related to the one imperative. For example; programs for young people that help them develop positive self-perceptions and acquire skills and experiences in problem-solving, decision-making, and inter-group conflict resolution; sponsoring or collaborating with other groups around issues such as welfare rights, child-care, health-care, drug abuse, and learning centers which ajre community based and controlled; providing technical assistance, leadership training and consultation service to commuaity people and groups. One center, delicately balanced between an ethnic white and a black community offers the only opportunity for people from these communities to meet together around common concerns developing positive relationships as they strategize for change across barriers of age, race and ethnic differences. These Centers continuously test the viability of the YWCA as a relevant agency existing in the midst of a social revolution.

Our most severe test of viability continues to be around our new multi-million dollar Harris Center conceived in a different day and located on a pressure point between Black community and an expanding University of Chicago. As it opened its doors for the first time our Association became embroiled in an explosion of racially charged issues around the administration of the building although the issue beneath was community involvement and community control. As one white woman on our Metropolitan Board, newly sensitized to the way racism functions, expressed the problem: there were racist implications in the original concept of the rbuilding, but a legacy of confusion and mistrust was inherited by an Association committed to self-determined social change and headed by a Black woman. Untangling the confusion and resolving the problem with the local community was a long and painful process, but the consciousness raising of the past year' and the insights gained from it carried us through the difficult period and in many ways strengthened our Association. We used the crisis to explore in depth all the racist implications, past and present that were contributing factors. All the issues vere openly discussed at numerous Board and Executive meetings until a resolution was eventually worked out. Some of our members have raised the question whether the national office has faced the implications of one of its staff members releasing a confidential personnel evaluation report that contributed heavily to confusion and tensions, mistrust and accusations, and unnecessarily caused painful divisions among our members.

The budget needs of the new Harris Center added to an already strained fiscal situation brought into focus a budget deficit crisis that opened up whole new areas of tensions related to the most crucial aspect of institutional change--the decision-making process itself. We had already responded to the jieed for change at this level by sharpening our qualifications for membership

on the Board of Directors to bring still more diversity of background, more cultural diversity (especially Black women) and more young women, thus providing the framework for a new kind of Board.

1 • ;

However, -it was the threat of the possibility of Centers closing as a consequence of the deficit crisis that we .were forced to deal with several aspects of "power relations" that occasionally, mar the working relationships between volunteers and staff and between-Black and White women. This is our latest front in the struggle to make our Association a more effective instrument of social change. Wh'ile shared responsibility, mutual trust and consultation between lay leadership and staff is fundamental to the operation of the YWCA, changing concepts of power relationships have put a strain on the process. In this age of "self-determination" any leadership arrangement that is experienced as a vertical heirarchy is being.challenged.

As a microcosm of the American societyi £ne YWCA also faces the necessity

" ' •' j' • of changing some of its power relations and structures, for "...Only through

the attainment of balance in power relations will we realize those authentic relationships where each is frse to affirm and to celebrate his own identity "...words from the closing paragraph of the National Board's statement "Reaffirmation, Renewal and Relevance".

The Are?. Center Gororaittee Chairwomen and their constituency want a closer working relationship with the Executive Committee so that they feel an integral part of the decision-making process such as was involved in how to deal with the budget deficit. They also want more flexible arrangements for meeting times to accommodate working women and women with small children, a problem to be resolved in regard to the Metropolitan Board also. Special meetings are being held between the Executive Committee and people from the

Centers to work out a structural change in the partnership arrangements to resolve the problem and to develop a more effective framework for volunteer functioning.

The most subtle of all relationships in the YWCA is the relationship between White volunteers and Black staff. White women are not accustomed to play supportive roles in relation to Black women, but traditionally have been socialized to perceive themselves as "leaders" while Black women have been perceived as "recipients" especially in social agencies. Hard to pinpoint, and hard to define, nevertheless there is evidence of resistance to the leadership of Black women often taking the form of paternalism or patronizing over-concern. With the Executive Director a Black woman and 50% of staff Black, the volunteer-staff relationship becomes even more touchy than usual. However, the budget deficit crisis, like the Harris crisis has brought many of the"se deeply buried attitudes to the surface where they can be dealt with openly; and a new spirit of unity is bringing together all the elements that make up the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago into a strengthened Association determined to balance the relationships as well as the budget.

If we view the YWCA as a laboratory for social change, the skills and techniques (not to mention battle scars) we acquire as we struggle to implement the imperative may turn out to be effective enough to take on the whole American social system, and the command that we "thrust our collective power toward the elimination of racism wherever it exists and by any means necessary" may not be in the realm of fantasy after all.

P,S. When the Human Relations Advisory Committee were discussing what kind of report to submit to the National Office, the following issues were raised that they wanted passed on: ' • '

Why has there been no follow up on the Black Women's Conference?

What is its present status? "?

What accounts for the poor quality of the Action Audit Kit?

Why was the meaning of the one imperative so diluted in the National Board Report following the convention?

And finally, the Institutes for Change and Action were seen as a weak way to implement the imperative and & wrong use of ..'.:, money allocated for impleme'riting the imperative.