Research Description

The Rise of Black Women's Clubs and Their Impact on American Race Relations

I am researching the history of black women’s clubs, specifically during the 1890s and 1950s. These two periods were distinct eras when black women’s groups were popular, influential, and very active. In the 1890s, the black women’s club movement was a vehicle for black women to organize for assisting fellow blacks to rise out of poverty and propel racial progress. Similarly, during the 1950s and 60s, groups were instrumental in community activism for racial equality.

This research focuses on groups such as the National Council of Negro Women and the National Association of Colored Women. Serving as major resources, black women’s clubs were significant unifying forces within the black community. Groups offered such things as scholarships for female students, classes, and recreational centers as well as the opportunity for black women to gain leadership and professional experience. In addition to the gains black clubs made for African Americans, racially-mixed clubs also provide telling glimpses of the way social norms and racial identities played into the organizational framework.

This paper will provide significant analysis of the relationships between white and black women where currently there are few in-depth explorations of this theme in secondary literature. It also addresses the influence of black women’s clubs on local and national issues of racial inclusiveness and racial tensions.

In conducting primary source research for the paper, I traveled to Boston to view manuscript collections at the Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America. Items included club records such as meeting agendas, programs, and internal group reports, with most records compiled in the mid-20th century. These resources were invaluable for insights into the minds of clubwomen and their motivations for developing enriching opportunities for both their own members and their communities.