This paper details how African-American boys' club workers, their Clubs as well as their service to African-American youth, gained legitimacy within the Boys' Club Federation, now Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA). Specifically, it illustrates what facilitated a predominantly urban, northeastern organization to begin opening Clubs for African-American boys and hiring African-American professionals as well as some of the factors that led to these Clubs and their professional leadership being legitimized among their peers. This research suggests that the impetus for local community leaders to establish Boys' Clubs for African-American boys and hire African-American professionals stemmed from the harsh conditions faced by large numbers of youth drawn to the urban North by the Great Migration. Notwithstanding, it was the success of these local, African-American professionals, specifically, William T. Coleman, that caught the attention of the national office, particularly Christopher J. Atkinson, who, in turn, pushed for the recognition and growth of these Clubs. (Contains 69 footnotes, 1 table, and 4 figures.)