French Creoles | Creole Experience

African-American founding members of the Autocrat Club combined racial activism with cultural vigor to form a social and pleasure club that still thrives today.

The Autocrat Club at 1725 St. Bernard Ave. in New Orleans’ 7th Ward (once called “The Creole Section”) has operated continuously from September 14, 1914; and has published its newsletter, The Autocrat Voice, since 1934.

During its history, the club has not only provided a social haven for its members and guests; it has also been an important venue for jazz musicians, who played at the club’s many dances and balls at least as far back as the 1920s.

In “History of the Autocrat Club,” A.P. Tureaud wrote, “...keep moving orders of police and arrests and humiliation contributed largely to the establishment of chartered clubs in New Orleans.” A “keep moving” order was a police technique used to disallow groups of young men from congregating in public.

The order gave rise to a need for recreational facilities where young men could congregate in private — and avoid police hassles. Many clubs were founded for this reason, according to Tureaud.

Under protection of a charter, clubs were established to provide a safe place for entertainment and fellowship. These were sometimes referred to as “poker clubs.”Autocrat Club members trace their organization’s history to a man named Simon Bellau, who became the owner of a charter for the Autocrat Club (source unknown) around 1909. Twelve men, including Arthur Boisdore, “got possession” of this charter and started a for-profit establishment. After a short while they disbanded and left the charter with Boisdore, who then kept an establishment at St. Philip Street and N. Claiborne Avenue.

“The activities of the police,” however, made the one-man operation unprofitable, and it closed. Current Autocrat Club members say that “activities of the police” meant harassment.

In 1914, Boisdore, Placide Suane, Lovis Smith, Gabe Pratts, Walter and Wallace Marine and Edward Labuzan sought another clubhouse in New Orleans after gathering during the summer at a place on lake pontchartrain called the Gold Rod Club. At a meeting in Baptiste Jourdain’s home, 10 men put up one dollar each to rent two rooms on Onzaga Street for $7 a month.

The cornerstone of the current club building places its actual founding on Sept. 14, 1914. Records are sketchy about the move to a third location on Lapeyrouse Street, but indicate that “due to the refusal of the police department to stamp the charter,” that location had to be abandoned. The Autocrat Club then moved into the current St. Bernard location on Nov. 1, 1924.

The white, yellow and red brick building with its brace of 20 windows across the front is a familiar sight to anyone who travels St. Bernard Avenue today. A white marble plaque on the facade states that the building was erected on Aug. 31,1924, though the auditorium that flanks it was added later. That auditorium has become a landmark, serving as a hub for civic and political organizing. In the 1960s, civil rights leaders including A.P. Tureaud, Dutch Morial and Clarence Henry held meetings there.

Many musicians and 7th Ward residents claim that Autocrat Club members discriminated among African-Americans on the basis of skin color, alleging that one could be “no darker than a brown paper bag” for admission. Current members, however, deny that a culture of prejudice existed at the club.

According to spokesman Adelaide Roberts, there was no rule regarding skin color. In fact, Roberts said, “seven or eight of the founding members were jet black.”

The same members point out that the Autocrat could be booked for events by members and non-members. Admission to those events was at the discretion of the client, they say, suggesting that the Autocrat’s reputation may stem from the policies of one or more organizations that rented the hall over time.

As citizens gained enough financial security to care for themselves, social clubs became more prevalent than benevolent societies, which provided funds for funerals and medical assistance. Social clubs helped members establish connections and conferred status on the families of their leaders. Athletic competitions, soirees, dress balls and second-line parades enlivened their communities.

According to its constitution, the Autocrat Club exists to “promote social intercourse, harmony, enjoyment, refinement of manners, and the moral, mental and material welfare of its members.” The club even has a library with a large collection of African-American materials.

In addition to civic and social activities, the Autocrat Club continuously hosted professional jazz musicians who played for balls and dances. One such musician was the great trumpet player Hypolite Charles, whose Maple Leaf Band was named after composer Scott Joplin’s hit “Maple Leaf Rag.” Charles had a contract with the Autocrat Club during the 1920s.

Jobs paid $3.50 per night for each musician, and according to recorded interviews with band member Eddie Dawson, “the band made lots of money.” The band also played the New Orleans Country Club, San Jacinto Hall, and most of the Creole balls.

The Maple Leaf Band included Camilla Todd playing piano, with Sonny Henry on trombone, Emile Bigard on violin, Joe Welch on drums, Lorenzo Tio, Jr., on sax and clarinet, and Albert Glenny on bass. Eddie Dawson also played tenor banjo and bass. Prior to 1910, bass players commonly played with a bow. It was around that time when Dawson became the first musician noted for plucking the strings.

An equally respected band that played the Autocrat Club was led by cornetist Chris Kelly. In 1925 Kelly originated the “plunger” style of muting. He played mostly blues and drags, using a toilet plunger and a round mute. Later, as his style caught on, other musicians used glasses, derby hats, coconut shells, and toilet plungers instead of store-bought mutes.

Kelly’s band hardly ever read music, but had steady work at lawn parties, picnics, and halls such as the Economy, Perseverance and the Autocrat Club. Two of their feature numbers were “Careless Love” and “If You See Corrine Tell Her To Hurry Home” (later known as “Corrina Corrina”).

Chris Kelly’s Band was made up of Ike Robinson on trombone, Eddie “Face-O” Woods on drums, Emile Barnes on clarinet, Lawrence Marrero on banjo, and Eddie Marrero on bass. Some said that Kelly’s was the best playing of anyone’s, even compared with Louis Armstrong. According to Kelly’s bass player Eddie Marrero, the Autocrat Club was “classy.”

“Kid Avery” Howard, who played the Autocrat club in the 1950s, admired Kelly’s trumpet playing. Other musicians who performed at the Autocrat Club during its ninety-year existence include Frank Lewis, clarinet; “Wooden Joe” Nicholas, flute clarinet and piccolo; and George Fleming, trumpet. Fleming was known for “I Cover the Waterfront” and “Did You Ever See a Dream Walking.”

A 1979 newsletter announcing the Autocrat Club’s 1980 Carnival Ball with the theme “Jazz Roots” gives an idea of the breadth of talent that played here. The newsletter lists Louis Cottrell, Paul Barbarin, Sidney Desvignes and Lester Santiago among the “Autocrat Jazz” musicians. That same newsletter featured the Clyde “Golden Trumpet” Kerr Band that played in 1946. Kerr employed “Fats” Pichon, Robert Clark, Herbert Leary, Joe Robichaux, Oscar “Papa” Celestin, and Captain John Handy.

The club on St Bernard Avenue has echoed with the sounds of some of New Orleans’ most talented and enduring players. The building is one of several that fostered the development of jazz simply by hosting social events for their members - and calling on the best of the city’s plentiful musical talent to make their parties swing.◊

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