Hungry Club Forum

Hungry Club Forum was an interracial civic forum in Atlanta, Georgia, held at the Butler Street YMCA. Founded in 1945, it brought Black and white Atlantans together for regular luncheons with guest speakers and discussions of political and civic issues.

History

Establishment

According to the Atlanta History Center, the Hungry Club Forum was founded in 1945. Sociologist Ira De Augustine Reid, who chaired the sociology department at Atlanta University, suggested the creation of a forum where Black and white Atlantans could communicate. Members of Omega Psi Phi, university staff, and business leaders from Auburn Avenue developed the idea and established the forum at the Butler Street YMCA.

Meetings were held weekly and usually included a luncheon, a guest speaker, and Q & A. Early speakers included educators, and discussions often dealt with race and other issues affecting Atlanta. The forum was interracial, but white participation was initially limited by the social restrictions of segregated Atlanta. By the 1950s, white politicians were increasingly attending the meetings as Black political participation became more important in Atlanta elections.

Political role

The Hungry Club became a regular meeting place for political discussion. The American Historical Association includes it among the Atlanta institutions that provided forums for political activity and discussion during the city's civil rights movement.

In September 1955, Mayor William B. Hartsfield spoke at the forum and began a practice of Atlanta mayors opening its annual season. Hartsfield also delivered his annual state-of-the-city address there. The forum gave Black Atlantans an opportunity to hear the mayor speak and present him with questions at a time when segregation restricted their access to various official civic events.

During the 1960s, mayors Ivan Allen Jr. and Sam Massell continued the practice of appearing at the opening of the forum's annual season. The Hungry Club also attracted politicians seeking to reach Atlanta's Black voters. In January 1966, former Georgia governor Herman Talmadge spoke at the forum and joined the luncheon.

Historian David Scott described the forum as part of Atlanta's African American power structure. His study of the Atlanta Daily World notes that the newspaper regularly reported on the forum and its meetings.

Civil rights movement

In 1963, Ralph Abernathy used the forum to announce plans for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Martin Luther King Jr also spoke at the forum several times. On May 10, 1967, he discussed racism, poverty, and war, which he called the "three evils" facing American society, and criticised the Vietnam War. Other speakers associated with the civil rights movement included Benjamin E. Mays, Langston Hughes, Jackie Robinson

Later years

During the 1970s, the Hungry Club continued to meet at the Butler Street YMCA. A November 1974 issue of Creative Loafing listed the Butler Street Hungry Club Forum among the forums scheduled in Atlanta. The forum broadened its discussions to include issues such as race, gender, education, and labor. In October 1970, Jimmy Carter appeared at the forum during his campaign for governor of Georgia. In 1973, Maynard Jackson, a longtime participant in the forum was elected Atlanta's first Black mayor. In 1975, DeWitt N. Martin Jr. became president of the Butler Street YMCA, a position he held until 2000. He later worked to preserve records documenting the history of the YMCA and the Hungry Club Forum.

The forum continued to meet during the 1980s and 1990s, discussing politics, race, urban development, industry, and public health.

By 2012, the Butler Street YMCA was experiencing financial difficulties, and the Hungry Club Forum had not met for several months. The YMCA ceased operations in December of that year, bringing the forum to an end. Mayor Kasim Reed was the last Atlanta mayor to participate in the tradition of opening the forum's annual season.

In 2024, the family of DeWitt N. Martin Jr. donated archival material relating to the forum to the Atlanta History Center.