For Daughters of the American Revolution, a New Chapter -- More blacks join DAR

Image that appeared with the original NYT article --  Wilhelmena Rhodes Kelly, left, and Olivia Cousins, members of a new Queens chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.  Image by  Chester Higgins Jr./The New York Times

My daughter pointed this article out to me yesterday as we were eating breakfast!  The local N&O title is “More blacks join DAR” (she remembered that I helped people with lineage society applications).  The original NY Times article headline is “For Daughters of the American Revolution, a New Chapter.”  

Regardless of the title, it’s exciting to see recognition for these patriots who helped achieve our nation’s freedom and their descendants.

Olivia Cousins can trace her family in the United States to a soldier who joined the rebelling colonists when he was just 17. But when a friend suggested she join the Daughters of the American Revolution, an organization whose members can prove they are related to someone who aided the rebels in 1776, Dr. Cousins nearly laughed.

Dr. Cousins is black. And the D.A.R., as it is commonly called, is a historically white organization with a record of excluding blacks so ugly that Eleanor Roosevelt renounced her membership in protest ...

Read the complete article.

Editor’s Note: As with all articles written by other’s that we post, this article, presented in its unedited form, does not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of the National Genealogical Society and the material is provided to you for it’s relevance to the genealogical community.

Editor’s Note: The DAR has published Forgotton Patriots, mentioned in the article, which “focuses on the important contributions made by African American and American Indian patriots of the American Revolution.  You can access this publication online by clicking the title above.

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