Jack and Jill of America

Jack and Jill of America is an American leadership organization for African American mothers and their children. It was established in Philadelphia in 1938. The organization aims to improve the quality of life of children, particularly African-American children.

There are over 230 Jack and Jill chapters in 35 states in the United States, with over 10,000 mother members and 40,000 parents and children. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

In January 1938, Marion Turner Stubbs organized a group of 12 mothers in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to establish a social and cultural union for their children, who were excluded from many activities because of segregation.^[1][2] The group was named Jack and Jill and grew into a leadership organization for mothers and their children.^[3][4][5] The organization aims to improve the quality of life of children, particularly African-American children.^[5] Its original membership included a number of Black Catholics, one of the largest religious groups in Philadelphia.^[6][7]

The second chapter of Jack and Jill was established in New York City in 1939.^[8] Its third chapter was formed in Washington, D.C. in 1940.^[8] The local group became an inter-city association, expanding to Pittsburgh; Baltimore; Boston; Buffalo; Columbus, Ohio; Durham, North Carolina; and Memphis, Tennessee between 1944 and 1946.^[8] On June 1, 1946, eight of its ten chapters met and voted to become a national organization.^[8] It was incorporated in the State of New York on August 28, 1947.^[8]

In its early years, Jack and Jill was a prestigious club that helped African American children "fit into white America".^[9] The first Jack and Jill Teen Conference was held in Philadelphia on June 16, 1951.^[8]

During the 1960s, its membership declined.^[8] In the mid-1970s through the late 1980s, Jack and Jill had a resurgence as middle-class Blacks moved into the suburbs.^[8] Its mission shifted from the assimilation of white culture to instilling ethnic pride into Black children.^[8] Chapters began to offer Afrocentric programs, including an African rite of passage for teenagers going to college.^[8] The club also hosted Kwansaa celebrations.^[8] In May 1987, it held its first annual National Black Family Day to celebrate African American culture, promote the adoption of Black children, and talk about the needs of children in Africa.^[8]

As of 2022, there are over 230 Jack and Jill chapters in 35 states in the United States, with over 10,000 mother members and 40,000 parents and children.^[10] It is headquartered at 1930 17th Street NW in Washington, D.C.^[11]

The society was named for the nursery rhyme Jack and Jill.^[1] Jack and Jill's badge consists of interlocking letter J's. It was designed by Alberta B. Turner, the 4th National President, in 1954.^[8] Its motto is "Let's Work, Let's Play, Let's Live Together".^[12] Its publication, Up the Hill, was first issued in May 1948 and is a yearbook of the organization's members.^[8][1]

Membership in Jack and Jill is by invitation and is selective.^[1][9] Each chapter has limited membership of around 45, with new members only being admitted when a current member's child graduates from high school.^[1] Historically, its members were well-educated professional women, such as academics, doctors, and lawyers, or were the wives of CEOs, doctors, funeral directors, lawyers, ministers, professors, or teachers.^[9][1][2] In 1978, The Washington Times noted that the true sign of making it in Washington, D.C.'s Black society was being chosen for membership in Jack and Jill.^[1]

Children can be members until they graduate from high school but can rejoin after they marry and have their own family.^[1]

In 1968, the organization created its philanthropic arm, the Jack and Jill of America Foundation, incorporated in the State of Illinois.^[8][2] The foundation has been responsible for the origin and funding of many educational and charitable projects benefiting children and families in communities across the United States. It has contributed millions of dollars to Black-focuses organizations and projects, including: Africare, the American Red Cross, the United Negro College Fund, the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, the March of Dimes, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.^[8][12]

As of 2022, there are over 230 Jack and Jill chapters in 35 states in the United States.^[10]

• Olufolasade Adamolekun, professional soccer player
• Sadie T. M. Alexander, lawyer, civil rights activist, and economist^[2]
• Mary Barksdale, nurse and owner of the Hurstdale Rest Home
• Julian Bond, Georgia State Senate, Georgia House of Representatives, and chair of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People^[2]
• Ron Brown, United States Secretary of Commerce and chair of the Democratic National Committee^[5]
• Helen Octavia Dickens, physician and first African-American woman to be admitted to the American College of Surgeons^[2]
• Suzzanne Douglas, actress
• Thasunda Duckett, president and CEO of TIAA and former CEO of Chase Consumber Banking
• Ron Dullums, Mayor of Oakland and United States House of Representatives^[2]
• Ted Ellis, artist
• Patricia Fleming, director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy
• Nina Foxx, author, playwright, and filmmaker
• Velveta Golightly-Howell, a lawyer who was Colorado's first Black female prosecutor
• Frederick D. Gregory, astronaut and 10th Deputy Administrator of NASA^[2]
• William H. Grey III, United States House of Representatives^[2]
• Josie R. Johnson, Civil rights activist
• Kathleen Jones-King, physician and clubwoman
• Carlotta Walls LaNier, the youngest of the Little Rock Nine
• Josephine Harreld Love, musicologist and concert pianist
• Pauline Weeden Maloney, third national president of The Links and rector of Norfolk State University
• Tyler Mitchell, photographer^[13]
• Codie Elaine Oliver, film producer
• Prentice Penny, Film director and producer
• Jalina Porter, Principal Deputy Spokeswoman for the United States Department of State
• Emily Brown Portwig, pharmacist and clubwoman
• Charles Rangel, United States House of Representatives and New York State Assembly^[2]
• Phylicia Rashad, actress^[5]
• Jackie Robinson, professional baseball player and the first African-American to play in Major League Baseball in the modern era^[2]
• Gertrude Schalk, writer, columnist, and newspaper editor
• Betty Shabazz, educator, civil rights activist, and wife of Malcolm X.^[2]
• Juliana Stratton, Lieutenant Governor of Illinois and Illinois House of Representatives
• Marion Turner Stubbs, concert pianist and founder of Jack and Jill of America
• Thyrsa Frazier Svager, head of the Department of Mathematics, provost, and dean of academic affairs at Central State University
• Alberta Banner Turner, professor at Winston-Salem College, Lincoln University, and Ohio State University
• Mary Parks Washington, artist
• Lynn Whitfield, actress^[5]
• Andrew Young, Mayor of Atlanta, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, and United States House of Representatives^[2]

Jack and Jill has been criticized by many African Americans as " a bunch of elitist, bourgeois, light-skinned Blacks who want to be white".^[9] In its early years, the organization was known for a membership that who had "good hair" and a light skin color.^[9][2] The Washington Post notes that Jack and Jill's "critics have described it as a 'snobbish club for black elites.'"^[1] However, its members considered their organization to be "selective" rather than snobbish.^[2]

• Jack and Jill of America, Inc.
• Jack and Jill Foundation