Earlier this year, theTampa-Hillsborough County Public Library’s Digital Collections added a new collection to the Hillsborough Black Experience, a digital repository encompassing special collections and oral histories reflecting Black life in Hillsborough County. I ingested the Clerks & Secretaries Organization, Inc. (CSO) Collection which was a group of professional African American women working in Tampa between 1964 and the early 2000s. The group was formed to assist community youth and lend support in obtaining employment for members.

These women worked on fundraising for programs, scholarships, and donations to local shelters, causes, and schools. Several of their fundraisers involved fashion shows where proceeds went to scholarships for underprivileged children. Another program depicts the CSOs providing new technology to students at Williams Elementary School, formerly located in East Tampa. This collection showcases the many ways Black Tampans supported their communities and worked hard to care for themselves and their families.

Link:  https://digitalcollections.hcplc.org/digital/collection/p16054coll9/search

Link: https://digitalcollections.hcplc.org/digital/collection/p16054coll5/search/searchterm/photographs/field/type/mode/exact/conn/and

Link: https://digitalcollections.hcplc.org/digital/collection/p16054coll5/search/searchterm/clerks%20%26%20secretaries%20organization%2C%20inc.%20%28cso%29%20collection/field/collec/mode/exact/conn/and/page/1 

Link: https://digitalcollections.hcplc.org/digital/collection/p16054coll5/id/2133/rec/17

Link: https://digitalcollections.hcplc.org/digital/collection/p16054coll5/id/2055/rec/41

Submitted by: Alice Fabela, Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library