The Quest Club

Adiyah Hassan - Quest Club members 1955.jpg

The Quest Club's members pose together in 1955. Contributed by Adiyah Hassan to Beloit College Archives.

Black men formed the Quest Club, a Black fraternal society, in 1949. According to “Honoring the Quest Club: 2014 Commemorative Souvenir Booklet” compiled by Adiyah Hassan in 2014, the group aimed to educate and assist members of the community. The Quest Club worked closely with the Beloit City Council, the Edgewater YMCA, and the Beloit branch of the NAACP. Its members volunteered and organized elections conducted blood drives, and provided scholarships to local Beloit students.

In addition to their land on 1900 block of Sixth Street, the Quest Club began to rent out their clubhouse on Riverside Drive to outside groups in the 1960s to bring the community closer together. They attended famous musicians’ concerts together. The Quest Club also hosted events such as the local teen dance “Teen Coke Hop” and created a float dedicated to the Queen of the Quest Club for the Memorial Day parade.