The Links
An invitation-based African American women's organization combining social fellowship, civic engagement, philanthropy, and community service.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Links, Incorporated is a United States-based social, civic, and service organization for prominent African American women. Established in Philadelphia in 1946, it developed from a small network of professionally accomplished women into a national and international organization with hundreds of chapters and more than 17,000 members as of 2025. Its members have included leaders in politics, education, medicine, law, business, philanthropy, civil rights, and the arts. The organization was created by Sarah Strickland Scott and Margaret Roselle Hawkins, who believed that Philadelphia needed a new type of women's organization combining friendship, cultural activity, and service to the Black community. They recruited eight additional women, most of whom came from prominent professional families and had participated in other African American civic or social organizations. The name The Links was proposed as a symbol of durable friendship and connection among members. Representatives of early chapters met in Philadelphia on November 9, 1946, to establish the national organization. Hawkins became its first president. Chapters soon spread across the eastern and southern United States, including locations in New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Missouri, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. The organization was incorporated on March 28, 1951, and had reached 56 chapters by 1952. In 1954, its operations were organized into four geographic areas: Central, Eastern, Southern, and Western. The Links participated in civil-rights-era civic activity and supported organizations including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Beginning in the late 1950s, it placed greater emphasis on youth services, and over time expanded its programming in education, health, the arts, domestic public policy, and international welfare. It has supported historically Black colleges and universities, cultural institutions, refugee and international-development work, and community organizations. The Links Foundation, Incorporated operates as a separate philanthropic entity associated with the organization. The organization also maintains a significant social and cultural role. Local chapters may organize debutante events, fashion shows, formal balls, luncheons, galas, and fundraising programs, while members are expected to contribute volunteer service. Its membership process is selective: prospective members generally require nomination by an existing member, and individual chapters may limit their membership. This exclusivity has contributed to The Links' prestige among African American professional and civic networks, while also prompting criticism that the organization reflects class and social hierarchies within Black communities. The Links' identity is expressed through values including friendship, integrity, honesty, service, commitment, family relationships, courage, respect, legacy, confidentiality, responsibility, and accountability. Its emblem depicts a globe surrounded by a chain, and its official colors are emerald green and white; the white rose is its designated flower. The national headquarters is located in Washington, D.C., in a building acquired in 1984 for the organization and its foundation. By 2024, The Links reported 299 chapters, and by 2025 it had more than 17,000 members across the United States, the Bahamas, and the United Kingdom.
History
The Links originated in Philadelphia in 1946, when Sarah Strickland Scott and Margaret Roselle Hawkins discussed the need for an organization that could combine social fellowship among African American women with structured service to the wider community. They recruited Frances Atkinson, Katie Green, Marion Minton, Lillian Stanford, Myrtle Manigault Stratton, Lillian Wall, Dorothy Wright, and Eula Trigg. The founders were associated with Philadelphia's professional Black middle and upper classes, had strong educational backgrounds, and were active in church and civic life. Early chapters were established in cities and regions including Atlantic City, Baltimore, Central New Jersey, Petersburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Rocky Mount, St. Louis, Tarboro, Wilmington, Wilson, and Washington, D.C. Delegates from these chapters gathered on November 9, 1946, for a national assembly that formally organized The Links. Margaret Roselle Hawkins became the first national president. The organization expanded through personal networks, with members approaching women in other cities to establish additional chapters. It was incorporated as a nonprofit corporation on March 28, 1951, and had 56 chapters by 1952. In 1954, The Links divided its national structure into four geographic areas—Central, Eastern, Southern, and Western—to coordinate chapters across the country. During the civil-rights era, the organization supported civic and racial-justice work, including activities connected to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. In 1958, it broadened its work in youth services. Its program areas later developed to include education, health, the arts, domestic legislation, and international welfare. The organization's public role was not without controversy. During the 1960s, critics accused The Links of social elitism and insufficient engagement with broader civil-rights and economic-justice concerns. Over subsequent decades, it responded through a wider service orientation, supporting educational opportunity, health initiatives, African and African American community programs, cultural institutions, and historically Black colleges and universities. In 1974, it made its largest single donation reported in the reference material, a $132,000 contribution to the United Negro College Fund for support of historically Black colleges and universities. Its chapters also supported or worked with organizations including Africare, the Haitian Refugee Center, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the NAACP. The Links' growth was accompanied by an evolution in its membership and public identity. It moved from an organization often characterized as consisting largely of women married to influential men toward one increasingly defined by the independent professional, civic, and philanthropic influence of its own members. This transition produced tensions between established and newer constituencies, but also helped broaden the organization's leadership base and service agenda. By 1999, The Links had approximately 10,000 members in 270 chapters. In 2008, it reported about 12,000 members and 273 chapters in 42 states. Its national headquarters in Washington, D.C., has operated from a building acquired in August 1984 for The Links and its related foundation. The organization subsequently extended its geographic presence beyond the United States. By 2022, it had approximately 16,000 members and 292 chapters in the United States, The Bahamas, and the United Kingdom. By 2024, the chapter count had reached 299, and by 2025 membership exceeded 17,000. Membership remains chapter-based and highly selective. Candidates generally must be nominated by an existing member, and chapter size may limit the number of available places. Local chapters combine service obligations with social and cultural programming, including formal gatherings, fundraising events, fashion programs, and debutante activities. The organization identifies friendship, integrity, honesty, service, commitment, family relationships, courage, respect, legacy, confidentiality, responsibility, and accountability as core values. Its emblem—a globe encircled by a chain—represents connection, while emerald green, white, and the white rose serve as important organizational symbols.
- 2025
Membership exceeded 17,000
[1]The Links reported more than 17,000 members in its United States and international chapter network.
- 2024
Reached 299 chapters
[1]The organization reported 299 chapters across the United States, The Bahamas, and the United Kingdom.
- 2022
Reported 292 chapters and 16,000 members
[1]The Links reported approximately 16,000 members and 292 chapters in the United States, The Bahamas, and the United Kingdom.
- 2008
Expanded to 273 chapters
[1]The organization reported roughly 12,000 members in 273 chapters across 42 states.
- 1999
Reached approximately 10,000 members
[1]The Links reported approximately 10,000 members across 270 chapters.
- 1984
Acquired Washington, D.C. headquarters
[1]The organization purchased a Washington, D.C., building to house The Links and its related foundation.
- 1974
Major contribution to the United Negro College Fund
[1]The Links made a reported $132,000 contribution to the United Negro College Fund to support historically Black colleges and universities.
- 1958
Expanded youth-services work
[1]The organization broadened its service agenda by increasing its focus on youth programs.
- 1954
Adopted four geographic areas
[1]The Links decentralized its chapter administration into Central, Eastern, Southern, and Western areas.
- 1952
Reached 56 chapters
[1]The organization reported 56 chapters as it expanded beyond its Philadelphia origins.
Products and positioning
A prestigious, invitation-based African American women's organization positioned at the intersection of professional fellowship, social connection, civic leadership, philanthropy, and community service.
Membership organization · 1946
Chapter membership
The Links operates through local chapters whose members participate in fellowship, civic activity, fundraising, and volunteer service. Admission is generally nomination-based and selective, with chapter size limits affecting availability. The membership network connects African American women working across professional, educational, political, medical, legal, business, and philanthropic fields.
Community service · 1946
Community-service programs
Service programs are organized nationally and locally across education, health, youth services, the arts, domestic legislation, and international welfare. Chapters provide volunteer labor, financial support, public programming, and partnerships with civic and cultural institutions serving African American and broader communities.
Events and philanthropy · 1946
Philanthropic fundraising and cultural events
Local chapters commonly stage galas, formal balls, luncheons, fashion shows, debutante cotillions, and other events that combine social fellowship with fundraising. These activities help finance community initiatives and allow chapters to support educational, health, cultural, and civil-rights-related causes.
Brand decisions
1974
Made a major HBCU-related donationOtherBackground
The organization was directing increasing resources toward education and institutional support.
Action taken
The Links donated a reported $132,000 to the United Negro College Fund for historically Black colleges and universities.
Aftermath
The contribution was identified as the organization's largest single donation in the cited historical account.
Donation. $132,000 (1974)
1958
Expanded youth-services focusStrategyBackground
The organization was broadening its role beyond social fellowship and civil-rights-era civic support.
Action taken
The Links increased its activity in youth services.
Aftermath
Youth development became one of the organization's recurring national service priorities.
1954
Decentralized national administration into four geographic areasStrategyBackground
The expansion of chapters across multiple regions created a need for a more distributed administrative structure.
Action taken
The Links organized its chapters into Central, Eastern, Southern, and Western areas.
Aftermath
The area structure provided a framework for coordinating chapters across the growing organization.
Sources2 sources
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