The Women of Montclair's YWCA: In 1912, seventeen women representing Black churches in Montclair, New Jersey met at the home of Alice Hooe Foster, the first African American to graduate from Montclair High School, and founded the Montclair Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA). These women saw a need in the community for Black women and girls, and created a safe space for leadership development, education, and recreation. Locally known as “The Colored YWCA,” by 1921 it was one of five segregated YWCAs in the state and remained separate from the national organization until 1953. The Montclair YWCA reflects the story of a town and a nation experiencing the changes of the Great Migration, integration, and the Civil Rights Movement from 1920-1965.