Eva Coley walked past a dozen circular tables covered in the colors of the pan-African flag — red, black and green. On each table in the Fleetwood-Jourdain Center was a Black History Month centerpiece and wristbands. Coley held out her microphone to a woman dressed in traditional African clothing as the whole room cheered and encouraged her to lead them in the song that opens all of the club’s meetings.
“It’s a joy to see our friends again!” The 40 attending members of the Foster Senior Club sang together, wrapping up their signature song to begin their meeting. “Senior day is here again!”
The senior club, which meets weekly at the Fleetwood-Jourdain Center in Evanston’s 5th Ward, hosted their annual Black History Month luncheon on Feb. 25. The members came adorned in Afro-centric clothing, the colorful, patterned fabrics of their dresses and jackets creating a mosaic across the room. As the seniors found their friends and took their seats, the smell of the catered food wafted through the room.
Since its founding in 1957, the Foster Senior Club has played a central role in uniting the Black community in Evanston, several members said. At the club’s weekly meetings, the seniors socialize, learn information on topics like safety and finances and participate in creative activities.
Many of the current members’ parents and grandparents belonged to the club as well, and the organization is a pillar of the city. There are currently 100 members, and around 40 usually show up to meetings.
“Being part of this club is being part of Evanston history,” member Betsy Jenkins said.
A place of family and friends
The founding members gathered informally at the center to play cards. Over time, the organization became more formal and now has official officers and procedures, such as taking minutes at meetings. Still, it remained a place for members to socialize and connect.
Alice Aikens wore a red and gold patterned outfit that her friend had made for her during a trip to South Africa. Her mother was also a member of the club, so Aikens grew up spending time at the center. She said she waited to join until all her mother’s friends were gone because she knew it would make her feel like “an old lady.”
“This place is like home to me because I’ve been coming here since I was a little girl,” Aikens said. “I used to come here before it was this building — when it was a little green shack. It has special memories for me. I can remember seeing my first shooting star here.”
Aikens has several friends in the club who she knew from her childhood. She used to lead the club’s fashion show, which stopped during the pandemic.
“It’s something I feel honored to be a part of,” Aikens said about the club. “It’s a rite of passage sort of thing.”
In addition to the luncheon, the club also hosts an annual indoor picnic, a Christmas party and an event to honor the member of the year. Last year, JoAnn Cromer was nominated to be the member of the year.
Cromer joined the club in 2011. Her mother and cousin were members, so when she retired, Cromer was set on joining.
“I’m very proud to be a member of the Foster Senior Club,” Cromer said. “It is the oldest organized Black senior club in the state of Illinois.”
Cromer is the vice president and corresponding secretary of the club. At meetings, she welcomes members and checks if there are visitors. She keeps in contact with members who have been absent or are dealing with illness or death in the family. Since joining the club, she has become an active participant.
She got to choose the details of her celebration when she won member of the year. She requested music from the 1950s and 1960s and had catered food from Howard Street Soul. Other members gave speeches dedicated to her, and her friend read “And Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou, her favorite poem.
“I was at a loss for words,” Cromer said.
One of the most important functions of the club is providing a social space for the seniors, Cromer said. She said members are always excited to see their friends at meetings, and the leadership often needs to tell people to quiet down to start meetings because everyone is chatting.
“I have friends that I went to school with who are in the Foster Senior Club,” Cromer said. “I have friends from my old neighborhood when I was in grammar school in the Foster Senior Club. I have relatives in the Foster Senior Club.”
Socialization is important for seniors’ mental health and cognitive health, according to a study from the Center for Healthy Aging at Penn State. The 2021 study found that people between the ages of 70 and 90 had better cognitive performance when they had had pleasant social interactions in the preceding days.
Kymara Chase, who joined the club a couple of years ago at her stepmother’s invitation, said that since a lot of older people do not get out of the house enough, she makes an effort to pick up her friend and drive her to the Foster Senior Club every week.
“I like socializing — it keeps your mind active, you have something to do,” Chase said. “No one wants to go senile, so we’re trying to stay engaged.”
A community with history
Rampant redlining and housing discrimination in the early 20th century led to many of Evanston’s Black families being pushed into the 5th Ward. The neighborhood developed its own businesses, community spaces and schools.
“It’s a very close-knit type of community, and everyone knows each other’s business,” Chase said. “And, of course, we were segregated, so that made it even more close-knit.”
Chase grew up spending weekends in Evanston at her grandparents’ house. Her family moved to Chicago because her mother could not find work in Evanston after graduating from Northwestern — no one in Evanston would hire an African American woman, she said. Still, Chase remained connected to the Evanston community and moved back in high school.
“We all have different experiences, so everybody has a different point of view,” Chase said. “But the one point of view we have all collectively together is the cohesiveness of the community.”
Chase also raised her children in Evanston’s historically Black 5th Ward. They attended the all-Black Foster School before desegregation. When integration began, the Foster School closed, and students were bussed into primarily white schools in other parts of Evanston. The 5th Ward lost its neighborhood school and has not had one since.
When her children went to the Foster School, Chase’s grandmother could walk them to and from school, she said. The school had many African American teachers and was a nurturing environment for her kids, Chase said. But when the school closed, Chase’s grandmother could no longer walk them.
“I was absolutely against that,” Chase said. “I never believed we should be the only ones to integrate.”
Aikens also attended the Foster School as a child, as did many other members of the club. She said the closure of the school left a lasting mark on the community.
“Going to the Foster School for me was a wonderful experience,” she added. “It’s just sad to me that my daughter and my grandson weren’t able to see it and have that experience.”
The Kingsway Preparatory School was founded in the old Foster School building, right next to the Fleetwood-Jourdain Center. The school’s director said that when parents and grandparents of the 5th Ward students visit, they sometimes say that they learned in the very same classroom. Kingsway Prep was created to reintroduce a local school and has a focus on Christian faith and an African-centered curriculum.
During the Black History luncheon in February, students from Kingsway Preparatory School performed for the club members.
“I’m Black and I’m proud!” a chorus of voices chanted. The children — as young as 3 years old — also reenacted a scene of a Black bus rider refusing to give up her seat to a white person and recited empowering phrases such as “I can be who I want to be!”
The seniors cheered and applauded in response.
As the students’ performance wrapped up, Councilmember Bobby Burns of the 5th Ward and District 65 Superintendent Dr. Angel Turner entered the room and greeted the club members. Cromer said the city of Evanston often supports the club, as does Northwestern and the Fleetwood-Jourdain Center.
“I just feel like the city of Evanston, especially the African American community, has high respect for the Foster Senior Club,” Cromer said. “We’re well-known.”
As the Kingsway Prep students filed off the stage and everyone prepared to eat lunch, the superintendent, councilmember, and police officers each spoke to the members, expressing their respect and appreciation for the club.
“I’m just happy to be involved with a group like the Foster Senior Club that is well respected in Evanston,” Cromer said. “I just think it’s really something — to be liked and cared about and really revered by the institutions.”
