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Detroit, Michigan civic leader, member and officer of the National Housewives' League of America, chairwoman of the Housewives' League of Detroit. Materials relating to Dessaw's participation and leadership of the National Housewives League.

Correspondence, reports, minutes, and other materials relating to her participation and leadership of the National Housewives League.

Detroit resident and president of Unit 7, Detroit Housewives' League. Collection includes scattered issues of Detroit-published African American newspapers and other publications and printed ephemera, a scrapbook with articles about African American business in Detroit, and two photographs.

Collection contains Detroit-published printed material related to Detroit African American business, entrepreneurship, and religious life; Beasley's scrapbook with newspaper clippings about successful African American entrepreneurs, scholars, athletes, religious leaders, lawyers, and representatives of other professional and civil circles, as well as a clipping with Beasley's portrait and biographical sketch; and two photographs, including a signed portrait of Coleman A. Young.

Printed ephemera materials include the Detroit Housewives' League programs of events held in honor or in commemoration of Rev. William H. Peck and in honor of Fannie B. Peck, dated between 1941 and 1950; a 1936 Negro Business on Parade program; and the Detroit-Tuskegee Alumni Home Dedication program dated 1945.

Newspaper titles include several scattered issues of "The Voice of Negro Business" dated between 1936 and 1941; and single issues of "The Independent Tribune" (May 5, 1934) and "Trade Week Guide" (November 18, 1942). Of note is a small collection of scattered 1931-1934 issues of "The Pythian Sister Tidings," the official monthly of the Supreme Temple Pythian Sisters, edited by Laura L. Gillette of Ann Arbor, Mich.

The "miscellaneous publications" folder contains two items that were published outside of Michigan, one dedicated to an African American business in Illinois.

Organization established in 1933 to encourage African American housewives to patronize African American-owned businesses. The national organization was comprised of local groups, the most important of these being the Housewives' League of Detroit, which was founded in 1930 under the leadership of Fannie B. Peck. The Detroit League worked in conjunction with the Booker T. Washington Trade Association whose organization was headed by the Rev. William H. Peck, and the National Negro Business League. The record group includes minutes, correspondence, publications, and activity files of both the national organization and the Detroit league. The series in the record group are History and Organization; Core Records; Correspondence; Programs and Events; Media Coverage; Publications; Chapters; Related Organizations; and Other Materials. The largest portion of the Chapters series consists of records of the Detroit league and include history, publications, and other organizational materials.

The National Housewives' League of America, Inc.'s records include general organizational records, correspondence, annual meeting reports, minutes, and programs, news clippings, publications, drafts of speeches, and event notices. There are also several photographs, an audio tape interview, and numerous types of ephemera, including the National Housewives League Annual Calendar. The financial records which exist are generally scanty and incomplete. There are also several miscellaneous African-American publications from the first half of the twentieth century located in the Related Organizations series under Miscellaneous Publications.

The National Housewives' League of America, Inc. Records are organized into nine series: History and Organization, Core Records, Correspondence, Programs and Events, Media Coverage, Publications, Chapters, Related Organizations, and Other Materials. The records of the Housewives' League of Detroit are a subseries of the Chapters series. Because the local Detroit chapter and the national body frequently shared and overlapped in leadership, it is often difficult to determine whether the hand-written minutes kept were for the national or local organization, so researchers should consider examining records on both levels for complete information.