| Abstract: |
The Future Outlook League was a Cleveland, Ohio, civil rights organization founded in 1935 by John Oliver Holly to promote
employment, mobility, and equality for black youth and young adults in the Central area. Holly, the League's first president,
was a political office holder in the area. The idea for the League grew out of dissatisfaction with the achievements of existing
Negro organizations concerning employment. The organization appealed to both unskilled and semi-skilled Afro-Americans and
was one of the first black organizations in the late 1930s to use picketing and economic boycotts to secure employment for
Negroes. Supported primarily by weekly fees assessed to those who obtained jobs through the League, the organization integrated
staffs of banks, stores, utilities, and industry. Integration of area neighborhoods was also a concern. The collection
consists of minutes, financial materials, subject files, scrapbooks, and membership cards. The collection pertains largely
to the establishment of the League and its activities in promoting employment and civil rights on behalf of Cleveland's black
community. The membership cards reveal characteristics of that community by providing information on marital status, age,
occupation, education, and residence. The scrapbooks detail the League's activities against small, local establishments, as
well as national chains, such as the A&P Company, Belle Vernon Products, Lawson's Stores, and People's Drug Stores.
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