Men's and women's clubs were resources in black society from slavery to freedom. Like mutual aid groups, the National Association of Colored Women (1896), Order of Elks (1899), and other associations, reporting “thousands of members throughout the nation,” promoted blacks’ well-being. They not only mirrored but also bridged class, gender, and cultural divides among blacks in their collective struggle for racial equality.

For example, Links, Inc., a middle-class club, formed to serve the community in 1946. Many elite Philadelphia black women pledged to “link” their friendship, means, and services on behalf of the disadvantaged. Today, Links has 281 chapters in 40 states, Washington, DC; the Bahamas; and Frankfurt, Germany. Chapters administer programs such as Service to Youth, which has funded education for “gifted minority youth,” along with crime and drug prevention projects, since 1958. Still operating, Project LEAD (Links Erase Alcohol and Drug Abuse) began in 1985.