Members of the American Legion Club

Members of the Col. Louis A. Carter Post No. 58A of the American Legion Club pose in their meeting room. The American Legion in Texas is a nonpolitical organization started after World War I, which aided veterans through legislation to secure access to hospitals, rehabilitation programs, and finding employment. It now is a large non-profit organization with more than 2 million members and with extended programs and activities. Col. Louis A. Carter Post No. 58A (since 1953: Col. Louis A. Carter Post 832) was chartered in the 1940s. During that time in the state of Texas, membership in the American Legion did not take into account race, creed, color religion or gender, but rather an individual's devotion to military service during the time of war or conflict as established by Congress. As a way to distinguish a post whose membership were predominantly black, the post was assigned an 800 number. At the time when Post 832 was formed and chartered, most of the black people in El Paso lived in the area where the post is today. There also were a lot of black-owned businesses in the area. As time has changed, Col. Louis A. Carter Post 832 has become one of the most prominent American Legion posts in Texas. The post is named in honor of Col. Louis A. Carter who became the only chaplain to serve with all four regular Army black regiments. On April 29, 1936, he became the first regular Army black chaplain to be promoted to the rank of colonel.

Area: Central / Chamizal

Source: C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections, University of Texas at El Paso Library. Collection Name: Leona Washington Photograph Collection. Photo ID: PH033-2-17-2.jpg.