Charles Bertrand Lewis, writing under the pseudonym "M. Quad," created the fictional fraternal organization known as the Lime-Kiln Club for the Detroit Free Press in 1878. The club was depicted as an assembly of African Americans, and the stories featured negative stereotypes intended to appeal to working-class Democratic readers during a period of significant racial tension. Lewis wrote these pieces using African American dialect, with characters bearing names like Brother Gardner and Elder Toots.

Each installment of the Lime Kiln Club involved a debate among its members on topics such as politics, economics, and philosophy. The satirical intent of these discussions aimed to mock both African Americans and politicians through their portrayal of absurdity and ignorance. The column gained considerable popularity, leading to its national syndication and a book publication in 1887. Lewis eventually stopped writing these stories when he departed the Detroit Free Press in 1891 for a position at the New York World.

The Lime-Kiln Club was a fictional fraternal organization conceived by writer and journalist Charles Bertrand Lewis. Lewis, a Union veteran and staff writer for the Detroit Free Press since 1869, penned these stories under the pen name "M. Quad." The Detroit Free Press, a Democratic weekly owned by the Scripps brothers, was known for its humor and affordability, a strategy that relied on high circulation for advertising revenue. The "Lime Kiln Club" pieces first appeared in 1878, presenting a satirical portrayal of African Americans through a fictional fraternal group. These stories employed negative stereotypes and were written in African American dialect, featuring characters with distinctive names such as Brother Gardner and Waydown Bebee. The intent was to resonate with the paper's working-class Democratic audience during a racially charged era.

Each episode of the Lime Kiln Club centered on a debate among the fictional members concerning matters of politics, economics, and philosophy. The narrative presented these discussions as absurd and ignorant, serving as a satirical commentary on both African American culture and political figures of the time. The column proved to be exceptionally popular, achieving national syndication and later being compiled into a book in 1887, titled "Brother Gardner's Lime-Kiln Club: being the regular proceedings of the regular club for the last three years; with some philosophy, considerable music, a few lectures, and a heap of advice wirth reading." Charles Lewis continued writing these pieces until 1891, when he left the Detroit Free Press for a more lucrative opportunity with the New York World.

The popularity of the Lime Kiln Club extended beyond newspaper syndication and book publication, leading to adaptations in other entertainment forms. The column was transformed into a vaudeville performance, with advertisements and a 1909 review in Variety magazine indicating its successful reception in New York. This theatrical version was presented by the troupe of George Walker and Bert Williams, who gained fame for their blackface performances under the name "Two Real Coons," distinguishing themselves from white minstrel performers. The vaudeville show also featured notable black actors like Abbie Mitchell and Tom Fletcher. Furthermore, in 1913, Biograph Studios began production on a silent film adaptation titled "Bert William's Lime Kiln Field Day." Directed by Edwin Middleton and T. Hayes Hunter, this film was notable for being one of the few surviving silent films with an entirely black cast, preceding D.W. Griffith's "The Birth Of A Nation." Although the film's production was halted for unknown reasons, its negatives were later donated to the Museum of Modern Art, which reassembled the footage for a public screening in 2014.