Social Capital
the function and dysfunction of early networking
2007-08-06
By Sherri McGee McCovey

When Jack & Jill was founded in 1937, affluent Black families were in search of ways to elevate their status in society. Locked out of white social circles, well-to-do Blacks started their own.  Thus, Jack & Jill, the Links, and the Boule, a fraternal organization made up of professional Black men whose members included W.E.B DuBois, Charles Drew, and Martin Luther King, Jr., to name just a few, were formed.  Membership in the Boule (which was founded as a secret organization and did not seek public notice until the 1960’s and 1970’s) meant you had arrived. Boule founders stressed the need for a social, spiritual, communal gathering space where Negro professionals could meet and fellowship. Organizations like Jack & Jill and the Links soon followed with similar missions.

Times have certainly changed since then.  Today, our children have access to myriad cultural events and activities that are far less costly and require less of a commitment than organizations like Jack & Jill.  And, while these groups were founded in reaction to being locked out of white organizations, affluent black families were also looking for ways to distinguish themselves from the teeming masses of laborers who had migrated to northern cities during that time. Consequently, charges of such groups being “bougie” and elitist are also part of their legacy, and have made some families reluctant to cross over, fearful of coming off as uppity separatists.  So, in an age of seeming parity, where Condi Rice can become Secretary of State, Oprah Winfrey can make the Forbes’ 100 list and businessman Max Siegel can head up DEI, the number one franchise of NASCAR, that good old boy bastion of car fanatics, the question that begs to be asked is: are such social groups still necessary? The answer: Yes, but not in the most conventional sense.

Yes, because entrÈe doesn’t always mean access. Despite the fact that we can now join most clubs and organizations, the nurturing and solidarity that come with belonging isn’t a given. Jack & Jill and other organizations like it are still made up of prominent members of the community which makes it the ideal place for children to meet other children of color (particularly crucial if they attend predominately white prep schools), form friendships, and hookup play dates.

Yes, because such groups are also a great outlet for parents to network with other Black families for business and pleasure. After all, these are the professionals who can often times influence votes, assist children in getting into a particular college, and change the needs of their communities for the better -- a tradition that’s launched generations of professionals.

These are the organizations – along with groups like the Boys and Girls Clubs, Girls, Inc. and100 Black Men – that will reinforce the sense of self a child is (hopefully) learning at home. Sure, parents are a child’s primary role model, but the mentoring and support other adults can provide is an invaluable tool in the parenting arsenal.
And, of course, outreach -- the notion of “each one teach one” – is vital to the success of our community as a whole. The social capital gained from that practice means a strengthened community fabric supportive of every child. Because, after all, one thing every parent has in common is the mission to stimulate the growth and development of black children with constructive educational, cultural, civic, recreational, social and service programs. 
Nothing wrong with that.

(Sherri McGee McCovey is a New York Times Best Selling author, and producer of the VH-1 reality show “Charm School.”)