Angus Robert Arrington Jr. (1899-1986) was born in Wheeling, West Virginia. He joined the Boy Scouts of America in 1912, just two years after the organization formed. The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest scouting and youth organizations in the United States. In 1912, Arrington began his scouting journey in Columbus, Ohio. This opportunity became available to him as the first all African American Boy Scout troop was established in 1911, which ignited the fight to welcome more African American troops to the organization. It wasn't until 1974 that the Boy Scouts of America began integrating troops across the country. From 1932 to 1937, Arrington served as a scout master to troops in New Rochelle, New York. He continued his work as a scout master to troops in Cleveland, Ohio from 1937 to his death. Arrington also was the Scout Master of Carl Stokes, the first African American mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.
The Angus Arrington Papers, 1912-1972 and undated, consists of applications, correspondence, a family tree, "Jackson's International Almanac 1942: A pocket encyclopedia of the darker races," membership cards, memorabilia including programs for Boy Scouts of America ceremonies, other memorabilia including programs for church and memorial services, newspaper clippings, a poster, photographs, promotional pamphlets, a scrapbook, and radio broadcast scripts.
This collection will provide information about Angus Arrington Jr., his family, and his involvement in the Boy Scouts of America in Northeast, Ohio in the mid-twentieth century. It will be useful to those researching the Boy Scouts of America and its history regarding the integration of troops across the United States. Personal papers will be useful for those researching the history of African American culture as well as the presence of the Boy Scouts of America in Cleveland, Ohio in the mid-twentieth century. Arrington's personal life and genealogy are documented in there are hand written letters, various programs from church and memorial services, promotional pamphlets for Karamu House, and an Arrington family tree. This collection also contains Boy Scouts of America materials such as Troop applications, membership cards, and correspondences regarding Arrington's time in the Boy Scouts of America organization. Of special interest is "Jackson's International Almanac 1942: A pocket encyclopedia of the darker races" (1942). This pocket book is a compilation of facts regarding significant figures and events in African American history. This collection also includes informational booklets regarding one of the first meetings of District 10, which provided direct support to leaders, helped organize volunteers and staff to better support local troops. Photographs contain content relating to both the Boy Scouts of America and Angus Arrington. These will be useful to anyone researching photos of troop activities, award ceremonies, or wanting to understand the culture of the Boy Scouts. It can also be helpful to those looking for photos of specific members of the Boy Scouts. Some highlights of this collection include photographs from the National Jamboree in 1950, which was a nationwide event to celebrate the Boy Scouts, and a photograph by Jimmy Baynes, a popular photographer in Cleveland in the 1950's who focused on individuals and events in the African American community. The scrapbook is of special interest with its detailed, handwritten captions relating to a large number of photographs kept by Angus Arrington. These include various camping trips taken by the Boy Scouts, portraits of individuals, and recognition awards.
This collection is arranged in two series. Each series is arranged alphabetically by document type and then chronologically.
Processed by Patrice Hamiter and Ashley Gulish in 2021.
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[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 5479 Angus Arrington Collection, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio
Gift of Alice M. Arrington in 1986
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.