The Phyllis Wheatley Women’s Clubs were named after Phyllis Wheatley, an enslaved poet who lived from 1753 to 1784. The first Phyllis Wheatley Women’s Club was established in 1895 in Nashville, Tennessee. The founders sought to improve the status of African American women in American … Read MorePhyllis Wheatley Women’s Clubs (1895- )
Adelaide Smith Casely Hayford was a Victorian feminist who dedicated her life to the education of girls in Sierra Leone. Born on June 2, 1868, in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Casely Hayford was the second youngest of seven children of parents William Smith Jr. and Anne … Read MoreAdelaide Smith Casely Hayford (1868-1960)
Born in Fordyce, Arkansas, on August 5, 1938, author and theologian James Hal Cone witnessed the hypocrisy of white Christian racism along with the power and community of black churches. His writings advocate Black Liberation Theology. Cone graduated with a BA from Philander Smith College … Read MoreJames Hal Cone (1938-2018)
Sarah Smith Tompkins Garnet was the first African American female principal in the New York public schools. The eldest of eleven children, she was born Minsarah Smith in Brooklyn in 1831. Her parents, Sylvanus and Ann Smith, were prosperous farmers of African, European, and Native … Read MoreSarah J. Smith Tompkins Garnet (1831-1911)
On October 25, 1997, an estimated 750,000 African American women gathered together to march on the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia to focus on their trials, circumstances, and successes. The day-long march and program of prayer, music, and inspirational speeches, which began at the Liberty … Read MoreMillion Woman March, 1997
Founded on Aug. 9, 1917 in Spokane, Washington, the Washington State Federation of Colored Women (WSFCW) confederated several social and civic clubs organized by African American women during the early 1900s. The African American women’s club movement in Washington State began in 1908 with the … Read MoreWashington State Federation of Colored Women (1917- )
Anna Murray Douglass is best known as the first wife of black abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Her life illustrates the challenges facing women who were married to famous men. Born as a free black in rural Maryland, her parents, Mary and Bambarra Murray, were manumitted shortly … Read MoreAnna Murray Douglass (c. 1813-1882)
