During Homecoming weekend, members of the 20 Grand Club will be reunited after more than 30 years.
The 20 Grand Club was a Black men’s social club at Murray State that focused on providing community service for nearly two decades.
Darryl Rowland, former club member from 1979 to 1986 and organizer of the reunion, said he plans to put together an event consisting of vendors, music, dancing, food and a memorial area dedicated to members who have passed. There will also be cash giveaways to currently enrolled students of Murray State alumni.
“A big part of it is still going to be committed to community service in a way,” Rowland said. “The purpose is to get together, but we called it a party with a purpose. We’re going to donate whatever we have left to the Black Alumni Scholarship.”
The 20 Grand Club continues to be faithful to its roots as a club devoted to community service. It was founded in 1974 as an alternative to joining a fraternity and remained active for 18 years, during which its members were dedicated to helping the community.
“I came to MSU in the fall of 1979 and I had found out about the club. I was asked if I was interested in joining and after learning what they stood for, I wanted to be a part of it,” Rowland said. “To join the club, normally what you would have to do is some form of community service. A couple of sisters that lived in Princeton, Kentucky, their house had caught on fire and it was the job of me and three other new members that were joining to raise money for them. And we did. We set up booths and stuff in the Hart Hall lobby after lunch and after dinner and collected money for a couple of weeks that we did eventually donate to (the sisters), which they were very grateful for.”
The club performed various acts of community service through the years, many of which were dedicated to the Black community, such as the $500 “20 Grand Scholarship.”
“One of the best things we had going was that we had a yearly scholarship that we would give out to some deserving (minority) student. We would review the transcripts and grades of incoming students to determine who would be the one to receive (the scholarship),” Rowland said.
Members found a creative way to fund the club’s endeavors by DJ-ing.
“We would supply the music for a lot of the parties on campus and we would even do some for some of the fraternities, and that’s how we funded a lot of our ventures,” Rowland said. “And we weren’t just limited to campus. We actually would be (in places like) downtown Murray, Paducah, we’ve done stuff in Hickman, Princeton, Mayfield– we’ve been around the area for sure.”
The 20 Grand Club was also widely known on campus for hosting an annual event that involved students.
“Something that was very popular on campus that we did every year was a people’s awards (where) we would recognize individuals and the students had to vote on who they thought was best dressed or most outgoing or (the winners of) other different categories,” Rowland said. “We would have a ceremony and give out awards. It would culminate into a big dance and we used the funds from that dance to also help with our scholarship fund. Students really looked forward to that. By the time we unloaded our vehicles in the fall, that was the first question that would come up, is when we were going to have (the awards ceremony).”
The club faded out after 18 years, and as of now, there are no concrete plans of bringing it back.
The 20 Grand Club will be continuing their legacy of community service and good-natured fun during their reunion on Saturday, Oct. 19, where its members will be brought back together.
