Future Outlook League

Cleveland civil rights organization founded in 1935 by John Oliver Holly to promote employment, mobility, and equality for black youth and young adults in the Central area. Holly, the League's first president, was a political office holder in the area. The idea for the League grew out of dissatisfaction with the achievements of existing Negro organizations concerning employment. The organization appealed to both unskilled and semi-skilled Afro-Americans and was one of the first black organizations in the late 1930s to use picketing and economic boycotts to secure employment for Negroes. Supported primarily by weekly fees assessed to those who obtained jobs through the League, the organization integrated staffs of banks, stores, utilities, and industry. Integration of area neighborhoods was also a concern.

From the description of Records, 1935-1959. (Rhinelander District Library). WorldCat record id: 22532311

The Future Outlook League (f. 1935), a Cleveland, Ohio, civil rights organization founded by John Oliver Holly, promoted employment, mobility, and equality for African American youth and young adults. The organization appealed to both unskilled and semi-skilled African Americans and was one of the first black organizations in the late 1930s to use picketing and economic boycotts to secure employment for African Americans. Supported primarily by weekly fees assessed to those who obtained jobs through the league, the organization integrated staffs of banks, stores, utilities, and industry. Integration of area neighborhoods were also a concern. The league's activities waned when World War II created additional employment opportunities on the home front. After the war it sought to rebuild itself, reviving in the mid-1950s and again in 1966 when it purchased a building on Cedar Avenue for its headquarters. Significant rebuilding of the program began again in 1975 when Reverend Charles V. Johnson became president following John Holly's death. Johnson softened the organization's militant posture, using pickets as a last resort, and instituted a six point agenda of full voter participation, implementation of civil rights laws, assistance in and development of community improvement strategies, investigation and reporting of social service programs, and employment. Fundraising events were held and a scholarship fund was established in Holly's honor.

click here to view the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History entry for the Future Outlook League

From the guide to the Future Outlook League Records, 1935-1959, (Western Reserve Historical Society)