Aa history Lovers 2009 moderators Nancy Olson and Glenn F. Chesnut page
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http://www.unique-design.net/library/myth/image.html Asian: http://www.sparksdojo.com http://www.longchenfoundation.org/aboutSymbol.html
http://www.rmholistics.com/blog/?page_id=2&action=lostpassword Cemetery of Montparnasse in Paris: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/217532490/ Magic symbolism (Solomon's Triangle): http://www.thelemapedia.org/images/2/2a/Goetia2.jpg http://www.answers.com/topic/magic-circle-2
http://www.david-ho.com/HOSA/About.html IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5746. . . . . . . . . . . . Pensions to GSO Personnel From: M.J. Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/1/2009 7:28:00 AM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Does anyone have any historical background regarding the institution of pensions for GSO workers? I'm trying to determine if the pensions that GSO employees & members of the Board of Trustees are eligible for came into existence out a Conference advisory action, or if it was part of the original charter, or just exactly what the history around it was...
40''s and 50''s deal with Jim Crow? From: Jon Markle . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/30/2009 4:26:00 PM
ago), I remember remarking that there were no black people in AA meetings. I was informed "they" had their own meetings. I found out they met just down the street where from where I was living at the time, in "shanty town" in my sobriety shack! I visited the meeting and it was a bit strange, the looks. During the same time period, I got involved with starting the area's only gay group. Our first round up, we invited a black gay man to be our featured guest speaker. I believe he had over 30 years at the time. And his story was something of the AA history of both black people and gay people in the area, from NYC on down the Eastern/ southeastern Seaboard. I wish I had a copy of that talk. I know now how remarkable his journey was.
made. I probably would not have been able to stay sober under those conditions, feeling that sort of persecution in the rooms, let alone in the life outside the rooms. AA has some very ugly history, as does America in general. And we still have a long way to go. I'm reminded that unless we learn from our past, we are doomed to repeat it. Hugs for the trudge. Jon (Raleigh) 9/9/82
From: Michael Oates This is great information. About ten years ago the Pope issued an apology for the Catholic Church's actions in dealing with segregation. Has AA ever offered an amends for its behavior during this period of Americana?
by one of the great early black leaders in northern Indiana AA, and some of the people from Chicago and South Bend who have been supporting this historic site:
SPEAKING (early Chicago and South Bend AA): http://hindsfoot.org/nblack1.html http://hindsfoot.org/Nblack2.html http://hindsfoot.org/Nblack3.html THE WISDOM OF GOSHEN BILL (another early black leader from northern Indiana AA): http://hindsfoot.org/nkosc3gb.html - - - - From: I was told by a member raised in coastal South Carolina about the experience of an A.A. group in the Myrtle Beach, S.C. area during the Jim Crow days. It seems a black man came to this group seeking help and being an alcoholic they knew they were
obliged to do what they could for him. Of course the local laws forbid his entering the same building with the white folks. They held a group conscience, prayed on the matter and someone came up with the idea of placing a chair in the doorway for the black man to sit in during the meetings. This way the law was not violated because he was not exactly included nor was our 3rd tradition violated because he was not exactly excluded.
gathering which included an Afrcan American. He related that he had been in the Air Force based in a southern state, and after several drunken escapades, his commanding officer ordered him to attend AA meetings. There were no "Colored Only" meetings.
any
gathering with whites, but he showed up at the local AA meeting anyway. The members of the local AA group decided they could place a chair for lthe African American in the hallway just outside the door of their meeting room. The members then arranged their own chairs so that the black man was included in the circle, even though he would not technically be in the same room in which the meeting for whites was held. Jim L. Columbus, Ohio IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5748. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: Early AA meeting formats From: azmikefitz . . . . . . . . . . . . 5/30/2009 7:42:00 PM IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII As some of the group members are aware recently we launched a new website that
hosts many early A.A. talks, www.recoveryspeakers.org, one talk that will be of interest related to the early times is "Annv of St Thomas" Sister Ignatia. This recording has several of the members from the Kings School original group speaking at the beginning of the meeting, followed by a great talk by Bill W. and a very short talk by Sister Ignatia, her last recorded talk. Bob E. sober since 1936 talks a bit about going upstairs at T Henry's house in Akron. Please note that this site is now available for free downloading but does need
support. In our first week we have averaged 100 visitors per day who have been
enjoying thousands of downloaded talks. The comments we have received have been wonderful and we are most grateful for
any support. Sincerely, Mike F IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5749. . . . . . . . . . . . Re: How did AA in Southern U.S. in 40''s and 50''s deal with Jim Crow? From: johnlawlee . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/1/2009 7:48:00 PM
"tomvlll" > > How did AA deal with the Jim Crow laws (the > rigid segregation laws) of that period? Did > they have segregated meetings? >
accomodations, so they would have had little to do with AA. Private gatherings were not restricted by the Jim Crow laws. About the only time the Jim Crow laws would have come into play would have been where an AA meeting was held in a public facility, such as a school, courthouse, train station, restaurant or town hall. Blacks would have had to use designated restrooms and drinking fountains in those buildings.
1940-64 was to not involve AA in an area of public controversy. Bill was about as colorblind and inclusive as they came, but he was very sensitive on public perception of the Fellowship. John Lee Pittsburgh IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII ++++Message 5750. . . . . . . . . . . . First black AA group was in Washington D.C. From: jenny andrews . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/2/2009 4:14:00 AM
in the second edition? ("This physician, one of the earliest members of AA's first black group, tells of how freedom came as he worked among his people.")
Ella G.'s. It was Charlie G. and three or four others. That was the first meeting of a colored group in AA as far as I know ... Charlie, my sponsor was white, and when we got our group started, we got help from other white groups in Washington. They came, many of them, and stuck by us and told us how to hold meetings ..."
think I suffered too much as far as the racial situation was concerned because I was born into it and knew nothing other than that. A man (sic) wasn't actually mistreated, though if he was, he could only resent it. He could do nothing about it... On the other hand, I got quite a different picture farther south..."
Washington D.C. -- or Chicago? From: Glenn Chesnut . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/2/2009 6:32:00 PM
Washington, DC). Some regard this as having been the first black AA group: April 1945.
4th edition 232 http://www.a-1associates.com/westbalto/HISTORY_PAGE/Authors.htm (or http://silkworth.net/aabiography/storyauthors.html ) This account says (but without giving a date): "When repairing an electric outlet for a friend, to earn some drinking money, he met Ella G., whom he had known years before but didn't recognize. Ella arranged for Jim to meet 'Charlie G.' who became his sponsor. Charlie was a white man. The following Sunday he met with Ella, Charlie, and three or four others at Ella's house. 'That was the first meeting of a colored group in A.A.,' so far as Jim knew." "Jim spoke at the 'God as We Understand Him' meeting held Sunday morning at the International Convention in St. Louis in 1955. Bill wrote in 'A.A. Comes of Age:'" "'Deep silence fell as Dr. Jim S., the A.A. speaker, told of his life experience and the serious drinking that led to the crises which had brought about his spiritual awakening. He re-enacted for us his own struggle to start the very first group among Negroes, his own people. Aided by a tireless and eager wife, he had turned his home into a combined hospital and A.A. meeting place, free to all. He told how early failure had finally been transformed under God's grace into amazing success, we who listened realized that A.A., not only could cross seas and mountains and boundaries of language and nation but could surmount obstacles of race and creed as well.'"
page 44, gives a date: "The Washington Colored Group was founded in April '45 by Jimmy S. It later changed its name to the Cosmopolitan Group to convey the fact that it was 'a group for all people, all races; it doesn't matter who you are.'" ____________________________________ CHICAGO: Chicago however appears to have had a black AA group started a month earlier, in March 1945: http://hindsfoot.org/Nblack3.html GLENN: Now what year did you come into A.A. in Chicago? BILL WILLIAMS: I think it 'uz, umn .... JIMMY H.: Forty-five .... It was December '45. Cause [Earl] Redmond came in in March, you told me ....
came in in March, and I came in that following December.
you had about four or five years sobriety behind you? You had a good program by then.
knew by that time that it was going to work . . . . GLENN: Now when you came into A.A. in Chicago, in 1945, did you hit trouble there too? Was there a color bar .... there in Chicago in 1945? I don't know anything about Chicago. BILL WILLIAMS: Oh yeah! Yeah, it was the same thing. It's still prejudiced, even now [1999]. GLENN: How did you deal with that? In Chicago, in 1945?
RAYMOND: He's a cowboy! [Laughter] ____________________________________ So what further information can our AA historians from Washington D.C. and Chicago give us? I know that in Chicago, the Evans Avenue group still meets, although they have moved to a new location. I have visited their new building, and there were photographs of Earl Redmond and so on, and there also appeared to be a lot of other material there of great archival significance.
40''s and 50''s deal with Jim Crow? From: Tom Hickcox . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/2/2009 4:54:00 PM
>"tomvlll" > > > > How did AA deal with the Jim Crow laws (the > > rigid segregation laws) of that period? Did > > they have segregated meetings? > > >
>accomodations, so they would have had little >to do with AA. Private gatherings were not >restricted by the Jim Crow laws. > >About the only time the Jim Crow laws would >have come into play would have been where >an AA meeting was held in a public facility, >such as a school, courthouse, train station, >restaurant or town hall. Blacks would have >had to use designated restrooms and drinking >fountains in those buildings. > >I suspect Bill Wilson's concern in the period >1940-64 was to not involve AA in an area of >public controversy. Bill was about as >colorblind and inclusive as they came, but >he was very sensitive on public perception >of the Fellowship.
pulling blacks out of white churches and whites out of black churches in the south without any request from the congregations. Separation meant separation. Bus stations, train stations, airports, movie theaters, sports stadia were segregated.
of 1946, and, except for several years in the middle '60s, have lived in Louisiana since and observed segregation up close. I attended Centenary College in Shreveport, class of 1961. By the time I graduated, some of my fellow students were making contacts in the black community. While there was no reaction by the college administration, there was from the community and politicians. Waking up in the morning and finding garbage on your lawn was the first sign you had disturbed the powers that were.
unlawful, they were often noticed and there likely were consequences.
Washington D.C. -- or Chicago? From: Cindy Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . 6/5/2009 11:18:00 AM
we drove to Washington, DC - where the Reeves Club was holding its' "4th Annual AA Old-Timers Speakers Jamm" This event was also a celebration of the Cosmopolitan Club, and every hour, the group read portions of "Jim's Story". The event was absolutely outstanding--each speaker had over 20 years sobriety--the event lasted from noon- 7pm and also included dinner.
meeting between Charlie G., a white man and sober member of A.A., And Jim S., a black man and an alcoholic who was still drinking. Mrs. Gant had known Charlie when he was drinking and he had told her about how AA had helped him. Upon hearing his story, she arranged for the two to meet. Out of that meeting was born the Washington Colored Group, the first Black AA group. The group survived with the help of Charlie G., Bill A., and Chase H. of the Old Central Group; DC's pioneer group of Alcoholics Anonymous. Stories of our group have been handed down from one generation of recovering drunks to the next. One story is that sometimes there would be no one at the meetings, except Jim and his wife, Vi S. Jim S., in his story, reveals that "They came, many of them (white AA's) and stuck by us and told us how to hold meetings, and how to do 12 Step work. Most of the 12 Step work was done at a new alcoholic clinic located at 7th & P Street, N.W. It was at this clinic that the group met Julius S., whose sobriety dates from 1945 and who is the sole survivor of that small band of recovering people. The groups' first meeting were held in the home of Mrs. Gant. They then met several times in the home of Mrs. Gant's mother. The Group of approximately 15 men & women, with sobriety ranging from a few weeks to one year, grew to nearly 30 members in the second year. Jim S. began to seek space for a meeting. He approached several ministers who praised what he was doing, but they did not offer space. He then approached the Anthony Bowen YMCA at 12th & S Streets, N.W. The "Y" rented a room to the group for $2.00 per night. In this second year, the group's name was changed from the Washington Colored Group to the Cosmopolitan Group of Alcoholics Anonymous--an indicator that all suffering alcoholics were welcome regardless of race. That group tradition remains in effect today. Often, a YMCA employee would come to the meeting room door, and beckon two or more members, then leave the room, on their way to "Carry the Message" These pioneers began to take their message to other cities: Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City and Fredericksburg, VA. Members of the group also included traveling sales men, with all the energy of a crusaders, who took the message up and down the East Coast as well. In 1947, the House District Committee of the 80th Congress held the first Federal hearing dealing with alcoholism and the need for rehabilitation. At the hearing, Julius S., of our group testified that he had not had a drink for 18 months! The Traditions, one of which deals with Anonymity were confirmed by the A.A. Convention in 1950.
In 1950, the DC Police Court allowed AA into the courtroom where meetings were held on Saturday mornings. Bob C., a probation officer, began sending probationers to the Cosmopolitan Group. At a later date, attendance at the weekly AA meeting became one of the conditions of release. It was at the 1955 AA Convention, held in St. Louis, that our founder, Jim S., became the first black person to address a national AA Convention. In 1970 or '71, the group moved to the Petworth Church located on Grant Circle of Northwest Washington, and from there in 1975 to the Peoples' Congregational Church. Currently, we meet at the Emory Methodist Church every Monday and Friday now at 8:oopm. We've been here since April, 1993. Jim S.'s story reveals theat in the first fev month s of his sobriety, he gathered up alcoholics in an attempt to save the world. He wanted to give this new "something" to everyone who had a problem. Well, his story concludes, "We didn't save the world, but we did manage to help some individuals."
time put forth by Dicker S. in compiling this paper. Best, Cindy Miller Sunday Morning Group at the 4021 Clubhouse Philadelphia, PA -cm `·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º> - - - - On Jun 2, 2009, at 6:32 PM, Glenn Chesnut wrote: > > > WASHINGTON, D.C. > > Jim's Story in the Big Book (Jim Scott MD, > Washington, DC). Some regard this as having > been the first black AA group: April 1945. > > Big Book, 2nd edition #471, 3rd edition #483, > 4th edition 232 > > http://www.a-1associates.com/westbalto/HISTORY_PAGE/Authors.htm > > (or http://silkworth.net/aabiography/storyauthors.html ) > > This account says (but without giving a date): > > "When repairing an electric outlet for a > friend, to earn some drinking money, he met > Ella G., whom he had known years before but > didn't recognize. Ella arranged for Jim to > meet 'Charlie G.' who became his sponsor. > Charlie was a white man. The following Sunday > he met with Ella, Charlie, and three or four > others at Ella's house. 'That was the first > meeting of a colored group in A.A.,' so far > as Jim knew." > > "Jim spoke at the 'God as We Understand Him' > meeting held Sunday morning at the International > Convention in St. Louis in 1955. Bill wrote in Yüklə 11,49 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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