Group of African-Americans at organization meeting, circa 1931/1940, Los Angeles

Photograph of a group of African-American women gathered for what appears to be an organizational meeting. The women are formally dressed; many are wearing corsages. The tall woman in the black jacket, standing fifth from the left, is Pauline Slater, one of the first African-American elementary school teachers in Los Angeles. The woman on the far right is Jennie Bruington, who moved to Los Angeles from Kansas with her husband, James, in 1887. Their daughter, Bessie Bruington Brooks, was a Los Angeles teacher who in 1939 became the city's first African-American principal. The identity of the other women is not known. A flag with the name of the organization is in the center of the photograph; the writing on the flag is partially hidden, but the words "Col. James M. ., Los Angeles, Calif., Dec. 29, 1936" are visible. A man in a police uniform stands third from the right, next to an American flag; another man in a suit and tie stands on the other side of the flag.