Black Elks Flock to L.A. for Their 87th Convention
More than 30,000 members, families and friends of the Improved Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the World, a black fraternal organization, have arrived in Los Angeles for the group’s 87th annual convention, Elks officials said.
The convention, held in the city for the first time in almost 20 years, starts today and runs through Aug. 8 at the downtown Bonaventure Hotel, said C. L. Smith, an Elks spokesman.
Dances, a parade, an awards dinner and the fraternity’s secret business meetings, Smith said, will keep the conventioneers busy.
Tuesday’s parade, featuring bands, international marching units, floats and decorated cars, will start at 10 a.m. on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near the Coliseum, move up Figueroa Street and end near the Convention Center.
The Elks will honor Mayor Tom Bradley and Municipal Judge Maxine Thomas at an achievement awards banquet at the Bonaventure Wednesday night.
Edward Greenwood, an Elks spokesman, said the fraternity gives college scholarships each year and contributes to civil rights organizations and groups that aid the blind.
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