Office, Imperial Order of King David (IOKD)
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Available
Image Details
- Source:
- Flickr
- Collection:
- Ronnie Pitman
- Date:
- 2018-03-17 13:44:26
- Region:
-
Richmond, Virginia
(inherited from collection) - Description:
- 112 W. Clay Street Richmond, Virginia 37º32'54" N, 77º26'31" W Property records for the City of Richmond list this address as a "Three Family Converted" and so I'm not sure if the plaque on the wall is current or a historical artifact. In any case, the IOKD is an African-American fraternal order, founded in Richmond, and as far as I can tell their primary concern has been burial insurance. Early Virginia insurance records state that they commenced business in January 1909; according to some recent obituaries they remain in operation to this day. The Annual Report of the Secretary of the Commonwealth to the Governor and General Assembly of Virginia for the Year Ending September 30, 1909 refers to the IOKD as previously called The Supreme Grand Order of the Women's Corner Stone Society of Virginia. The Oklahoma Historical Society has an article "Fraternal Orders, African American" in their Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture . The following is a good portion of that article: "Much of African American existence in the United States was characterized by legal and customary racial segregation. Denied access to economic avenues, black citizens had no alternative other than to pool their resources and expertise to develop parallel structures within their own partially enclosed world. Equally, the institutions that they created also flowed from their cultural desires to construct their own identity. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century the institutional structure of the African American community manifested itself in the church, mutual benefit organizations, newspapers, and fraternal orders. "Secret rituals, ceremonies, and impressive regalia characterized African American fraternal orders. Membership gave the participants prestige and standing in the community. "Fraternal orders, however, provided more than just prestige for their members. "Services such as burial insurance, donations to the needy, and support for the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) and the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) emanated from the organization. They were also self-help groups, which emphasized thrift, industry, and morality. Additionally, fraternal orders provided a training ground for leadership. Within a society that emphasized the degradation of blacks, these organizations provided an environment where they could actively use their talents and abilities. "Consequently, African American fraternal orders multiplied rapidly in the South after the Civil War...The lodges offered recreation, companionship, recognition, and talent development, which made life in a segregated world more bearable...Whether in an All-Black town or the segregated urban district, fraternal orders served as an epicenter for community cohesion in the first half of the twentieth century."
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- License:
- CC BY-NC 2.0
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