In 1965 the Civic League of Homer, Louisiana, invited the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to establish a chapter in Homer. The League had begun the attempt to upgrade the life of the Black community in Claiborne Parish, but found a need for the advice and experience of CORE. Once established, the Homer Chapter of CORE helped the League to strengthen itself internally by attracting new membership and electing new officers. The chapter helped structure such League projects as: a voter registration drive to get more Blacks on the voting rolls; a school desegregation suit; an anti-poverty program including a Head Start project for pre-school age children; and a Community Action program. Both the League and the chapter intended these specific programs to generally better the lives of the Claiborne Parish Blacks and to free them from further harrassment and intimidation from the White community. The only instance in which the chapter did not act in an advisory capacity to the League was in organizing youth groups.
