Oak City Auxiliary

Dulcina DeBerry as a young woman Source: Courtesy of HMCPL Special Collections

During World War I, the Wake County Red Cross opened canteens in Raleigh to support soldiers traveling through the city. Since many Raleigh goods and services were segregated, Black troops were turned away. In response, local leaders created the Oak City Auxiliary on July 8, 1917, to ensure African American service members received food, care, and dignity.

The Auxiliary’s nurses were recruited and organized by prominent Black women in the community, who also served on its executive board. One of its key leaders was Dulcina Blanch Torrence DeBerry. A Shaw University graduate and the wife of a minister, DeBerry chaired the Auxiliary from September 1917 to March 1918, and guided the work to meet the needs of Black servicemen during the war.

After the war, DeBerry continued her commitment to education and public service. She taught grade school North Carolina, and later became the first Black librarian in the Huntsville-Madison Public Library System. She was honored by a library branch in Huntsville, Alabama, named in her honor.