The Lincoln League was the name taken by a number of Republican Party-affiliated clubs in the United States, named for President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. Among the most famous of the leagues was one organized in 1916 by Robert Church Jr. in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

Tennessee Lincoln League

The Tennessee Lincoln League was established by Robert Church Jr. in 1916 and advocated for African American interests in the Republican Party. Church recruited various business leaders to join the group including T. H. Hayes, J. B. Martin, Levoy McCoy, Bert M. Roddy, and J. T. Settle. The Lincoln League worked to secure patronage (government jobs doled out by party leaders) and advocated for policies against lynching, fire protection, police services, parks, and schools. The group also raised money to pay

poll taxes A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...

so African Americans could vote and supported voter education at night schools, promoted candidates, and held fundraisers. The group leveraged African American voters and solidarity to deliver political involvement, influence, and government funding to benefit the African American community. The group also advocated for representation, rights, safety, and recognition for African Americans in the Republican Party. Organized in Memphis, the group held meetings in Church Park Auditorium on Beale Street, an African American-owned venue. The group's success expanded to various cities and towns in Tennessee as well as to cities in other states. The Lincoln League took to the national stage with the development of the Lincoln League of America and a national meeting was held in Chicago in February, 1920. According to the

Tennessee Encyclopedia ''Tennessee Encyclopedia'' is a reference book on the U.S. state of Tennessee that was published in book form in 1998 and has also been available online since 2002. Contents include history, geography, culture, and biography. The original print ed ...

, the Lincoln League contributed to later Civil Rights movements by promoting African American racial solidarity.

References

{{Reflist 1916 establishments in Tennessee Republican Party (United States) organizations Organizations based in Memphis, Tennessee