National Association of Colored Women
The National Association of Colored Women (NACW) is a pivotal organization in American history, founded in July 1896 when the National Federation of Afro-American Women and the National League of Colored Women united in Washington, D.C. Responding to severe social injustices faced by African Americans, including economic inequality and political disenfranchisement, the NACW aimed to address these systemic issues through organized collective action. Under the leadership of Mary Church Terrell, the NACW served as an umbrella organization for numerous local and state African American women's groups, focusing on education, reform, and racial uplift.
The NACW published "National Notes," which helped disseminate information and unite women in their advocacy efforts. Over the decades, the organization championed various causes, including civil rights, anti-violence initiatives, and health awareness, while expanding its reach across thirty-two states and establishing youth programs. The NACW's enduring mission has been to enhance the lives of African Americans and secure full citizenship rights, making it a significant force in the struggle for social justice and equality in the United States.
National Association of Colored Women
Near the end of the eighteenth century, grave concerns about African Americans being treated as second-class citizens compelled a group of African American women to move beyond their local and state associations to devise plans for the formation of a national body that would systematically and professionally address the problems that they believed threatened the very survival of African Americans. Economic disparities, political disfranchisement, and social ostracism presented the greatest threats to African American aspirations for freedom and inclusion in the American system of democracy. Meeting at the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church in Washington, DC, in July 1896, the National Federation of Afro-American Women and the National League of Colored Women joined forces to form a national organization known as the National Association of Colored Women (NACW). Mary Church Terrell served as the organization's first president.
Operating through a series of departments and a strong executive cabinet, the NACW became an umbrella group for African American women’s organizations at both state and local levels. The organization’s official publication, National Notes, served as an instrument to unite the women and to educate them in the concepts and techniques of reform, advocating racial uplift, improved race relations, and protection of women.
Throughout the twentieth century, NACW promoted desegregation, civil rights, and contemporary issues such as combatting the AIDS virus. They have also spoken out against violence against women and workplace exposure to chemicals. The organization expanded to include branches in thirty-two states and created youth programs to benefit both boys and girls of color.
From its inception, the NACW has worked to improve the lives of African American and Black people in the United States and to help them achieve full citizenship rights.
Bibliography
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“National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs.” Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/exhibitions/join-in-voluntary-associations-in-america/about-this-exhibition/a-nation-of-joiners/lending-hands-joining-hands/national-association-of-colored-womens-clubs/. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.
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"Our History." National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, www.nacwc.com/history. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.