Events

The collection contains a wide variety of records generated by the Swank Social Club—a club of African-American men in Charlotte, North Carolina, beginning in 1934. These records include its constitutions and bylaws, correspondence, records about its anniversaries, members, social events, minutes of meetings, financial records, newspaper clippings, memorials of deceased members, and more. There are files on one member in particular—John McDonald. McDonald owned a cafeteria that often served as the venue for many of the Swanks’ social functions. McDonald developed a sizable fortune over the years, and he used much of this money to fund some of the Swank’s charitable interests. One of his philanthropies was a scholarship endowment. There are four files in this collection concerning McDonald’s contributions to the Swank Social Club.