Fighting For Equality
Often, the history of black women is neglected because they are members of two social groups women and blacks- who traditionally have been ignored by historians. During the Civil War era one civil rights pioneer emerged on the scene, her name was Mary Church Terrell. She affected society through the organization of The National Association of Colored Women and assisted in founding the NAACP. Despite the privileges afforded her by her social status and light skin, she encountered the same discrimination faced by other African American women: racial slurs, segregated living conditions, traveling in the Jim Crow South and sexual inequality. Aware that she had opportunities denied to almost all blacks, she prepared herself for a life of usefulness, dreaming of the day she said, "when I could promote the welfare of my race"(Sterling 127). In spite of the discrimination black women suffered, Mary Church Terrell was an advocate for the suffrage movement, racial equality, and civil rights.
Although Church Terrell faced challenges and problems because of her sex, she was an advocate for black women and women's rights. As an active member of the National American Woman Suffrage Association, she fought within the women's movement for the recognition that black women must have the right to vote and equal consideration in all matters of importance to women. During one meeting held in Washington, she stated, "as a colored woman
the injustices of various kinds of which colored people are the victims" (Sterling 132). Because of her outspokenness, she befriended Susan B. Anthony who in turn invited her to speak at suffrage meetings. Furthermore, she co founded the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) and in 1896 became the organization's first president. The group sought to achieve educational and social reform through building kindergartens for black children and providing a child care network. Additionally, the organization enthused by Mary's...
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