In honor of Black History Month, we are featuring Junior League Sustainer and the first ever Black President of the Junior League of Charlotte, Inc. (JLC), Toni Freeman. Toni began her Junior League involvement as a Provisional in 1992. She became the President of the JLC in 2003 and was the President of the Association of Junior Leagues International (AJLI) from 2012 to 2014. We asked Toni a few questions about her time in the League and more specifically, her time as the first Black President of the organization.
What led you to run for President of the Junior League of Charlotte?
When I was President, you didn’t apply for the role, but were instead asked to serve or ‘tapped’ as they called it, by the Nominating Committee.
How has the League changed since your year as President?
A lot has changed. The League has become much more diverse and transparent. When I was invited to be a Provisional, you had to have four sponsors and each current JLC member could only sponsor one Provisional. Ladies would secure sponsors a year in advance because of the competition. The League is much more accessible and open today.
What was your favorite part of being President of the JLC?
When I was President, we were asked by Nordstrom to be one of the charities for an event for the opening of the store’s SouthPark location. We partnered with The Links Incorporated for this event and were able to exceed the fundraising goal. This event was the first time Nordstrom had done online registration and this was something we were able to teach them how to execute.
After this event, the JLC was able to establish the endowment from raising these funds, which placed us in a positive financial situation. We had also raised more money than ever before in the warehouse that year. It truly was a banner year for the JLC.
What challenges did you face during your time as President of the JLC?
One of the biggest challenges I faced was member engagement. Membership was starting to change as more members had conflicting priorities. We were trying to ensure that there was a good balance between volunteer commitment and what people were able to accomplish. Recognizing this change was a hurdle.
As the first person of color as the President of the League, many people were supportive and generous, but there were people who were unhappy. There was an incident that year when someone painted racial slurs on the JLC building. Today, I regret that this incident was covered up, but it was a different time. We chose to cover up the incident because there had been so much goodwill and publicity about my serving as the President.
What was the biggest impact the JLC made on you during your time as President?
Not just during my time as President, but one of the reasons I joined the League was because of the training provided. It helped me to become a better civic leader. I learned to run a meeting, identify board members, governance, learn how to motivate volunteers and understand community issues and priorities. Being involved with the League helped me to volunteer along with Leadership Charlotte and to understand how a nonprofit is run.
What advice would you give to the JLC’s current President?
I would encourage her to continue to keep a pulse on the needs in the community and continue to have a voice and ensure that they are engaged in the community. I would also encourage her to listen to members to understand their needs and the community needs.
