The Brookland Literary and Hunting Club (BLAHC) is a social club founded in 1942 consisting of black male professionals in Brookland, D.C. In those days, segregation was still legal and there were no official places for black professionals to socially gather, so BLAHC was founded as a space where African Americans in Brookland could play poker and have intellectual discussions.
Local filmmaker Kenneth Campbell and Oral Historian Eve Austin compiled interviews with current members of BLAHC into a short film to educate the Brookland community on its own enriching history. The film was shown in Catholic University’s McGivney Hall on Feb. 20. It includes excerpts of the group playing rounds of poker and interviews of current members reflecting on their reasons for joining the club.
“[This film] stimulates many more stories from people who have so much more history about Brookland,” Campbell said. “It makes them want to preserve their fragment of Brookland and share it with others.”
Campbell, Austin, and members of BLAHC answered questions after the screening. Jock Banks, current BLAHC member, talked about the importance of keeping the social club alive; he was motivated by its social structure in providing unity to African American males in Brookland.
“The driving part was the sense of community and family we had,” he said.
After discussing the importance of the documentary, BLAHC member Doug Austin talked about the value of sharing culture and history.
“There's a lot of history in all of us, and worthy experience that we can all get from one another.”
The BLAHC documentary received its grant from D.C. Oral History Collaborative, and the on-campus screening was co-sponsored by Catholic University’s Department of History, Black Student Alliance, and Center for Cultural Engagement.
Separate interviews of current members of BLAHC can be found on Soundcloud, (@DCOralHistoryCollaborative), and updates on BLAHC can be found on its Instagram, (@BLAHC1942).
— McKenzie Coghill, B.A. 2022, Marketing and Communications Intern. For more information, contact communications@cua.edu.