A group of Black women led by Wilhelmina Crosson started the Aristo Club in 1924 to teach African-American history in the Boston schools and Black community and to boost educational and cultural opportunities for Boston's Black youth. In 1926 the Club sponsored the first official Negro History Week program in Boston. Decade after decade up through the 1970s, the Aristo Club provided pageants, musicals, and Black history exhibits each February to raise money for its scholarship program.