The Departmental Progressive Club celebrated the installation of the organization’s 2024 officers Jan. 12 at the DPC Headquarters on Gibbon Street.

City Council member Aliya Gaskins officiated the installation of officers, which included Christopher J. Lewis as president of the DPC and Merrick T. Malone as vice president.

“My dad and six of his friends were just teenagers when they formed this club in 1927,” said DPC member Mark Harper. “They formed the Departmental Progressive Club to provide a service that the city was denying people of color.”

 Harper recalled stories from his mother and aunts about how they “pushed the guys to do something.”

Board member Donal Goff holds a commemorative shovel to recognize his contributions as a Second Century Founder of the Department Progressive Club Jan. 12 at DPC headquarters. 

 

“The founding of this club was about possibilities,” Harper said. “It was about having the will to hold ourselves together, to be accountable to all our people and not rely on the system. These founders provided not just social gatherings but meetings on political issues. I’m proud of them.”

Other DPC officers include: Elijah Griffin Sr., financial secretary; Scott A. Price, treasurer; William E. Campbell, house committee chairman; Ramon McMillian, assistant house committee chairman; William E. Chesley, recording secretary;  Lawrence P. Robinson, sergeant-at-arms; and L’Allegro Smith, Donal Goff and Daniel Selby as board members.

“Carrying on my family’s legacy in this club is in my heart and in my blood,” Harper added. “I think there is a story to tell here, that we can do this and that we have a voice.”