13:32:38 And with a desire to uplift her race, like other activists and settlement workers, she supported women's suffrage, as a strategy to empower when she died in 1948.
13:32:54 With that said, I like to introduce our first speaker.
13:33:00 Lopez de Matthews do PhD is the manager of the digital production center and digital production librarian for the Howard University Library, and the Moreland spend on research center.
13:33:14 He is a commissioner on the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture and a member of the board of directors of the regional f Lewis Museum of Maryland, African American History and Culture in Baltimore.
13:33:31 He teaches African American history at Boise State University and Coppin State University. He has published several articles, and instead. Often, of how the university in war.
13:33:48 a senior advisor to us, truth, healing and transformation leadership.
13:34:00 Dr. Look, Dr. Matt Lopez Matthews, take it away.
13:34:07 So we do have one change factor Jones at Adele's is actually going to go. First we had a comment.
13:34:16 Our and our, our, the way our topics flow better so I do apologize for that sharing that.
13:34:28 Okay. Yes. Okay, I've been I'd like to introduce Dr it Jones, a native of Cambridge, Massachusetts, a professional archivists and historian, award winning author educator, and recognized leader in the field of African American women's history, and public
13:34:45 history.
13:34:48 Since, 2016, Dr. Jones has served as the university archivists at Morgan State University in Baltimore. In this capacity, she oversees the university, organizational records archival repository, along with the institution, holding of rare books and manuscripts
13:35:08 collection.
13:35:10 Jones.
13:35:15 Good afternoon and thank you, Gladys bill, as well as Kevin Gill injure Deborah shift and Merricks. Was it autumn, 2020, a conference planning session I am happy to be here.
13:35:28 I will start with an overview of African American women's suffrage, as we know there is also the sesquicentennial of the 15th amendment as well. So I'll have a conversation about both those particular amendments.
13:35:43 During my presentation. I'm a Luddite so I'm going to attempt to share my screen and I hope I can do this relatively effortlessly.
13:35:50 Let's see here.
13:35:52 So today I would like to talk about African American women's suffrage in Baltimore, Maryland, as intertwined and persisting, and I would have included my slide from another presentation of how Frederick Douglass with the 15th amendment and Francis ew
13:36:07 Harper, with the 19th amendment were native son and daughter of Maryland, and so Maryland has a very strong footprint in the national narrative. But I must start on Morgan's campus with the late Dr Roslyn Troy book pens work, and her black nationalist
13:36:21 feminized feminine paradigm feminist paradigm for seminal work, African American women in the struggle for the vote, 1850 1920 is still considered the leading text that analyzes in the granular level, African American women's participation from the 1850s
13:36:40 era, all the way from 1920s.
13:36:43 In her work. She says African American women struggled to remain visible in order to ensure electoral inclusion as black women became voters, they lobby for political candidates organized voter education groups in their own communities, ran variety of
13:36:58 offices and thought attempts by Southern racist, to keep them from the polls. The 19th amendment was a shallow one for black women with these bitter lessons behind them, black women redirected their energies towards other race centered, political goals,
13:37:14 and that's where she developed this idea of a black nationalist feminist feminist paradigm.
13:37:22 So then I'm situated now in Baltimore at Morgan State University, it's important to understand some elements of Baltimore, Maryland, Baltimore is considered a gateway to the south, where it blends northern and southern characteristics which do present
13:37:35 confusing and consistencies, although they did not openly declare themselves seceding from the union, they did have Confederate sympathizers in the state of Baltimore and there was actually a riot of Union troops heading south in Baltimore City where
13:37:49 people were costing, so it has a very confusing kind of critical mindset in Baltimore, Maryland, as well as the state in general, African American school teachers were instrumental and advocating for universal suffrage, as well as ensuring that African
13:38:04 American men were not disenfranchised in 1909 in Baltimore City. There was a Moodle foot by the state legislature that drill down to Baltimore City to take away the vote from African American men.
13:38:15 It was the black school teachers that advocated for that in the school to just come out of Compton normal school and Morgan State University respectively.
13:38:23 It's also important to understand that Maryland ratified the 19th amendment in 1941, they actually went to the Supreme Court Judge Oscar lesser actually advocated to have women's names removed from valid options or ballot registered roles.
13:38:37 And there was an effort to kind of be in step with other southern states who openly circumvented federal legislation that equated to disenfranchisement of African American women, it was intended to basically diminish the strength of the black vote.
13:38:53 So, Maryland, and Baltimore, Maryland, in Baltimore, really present some very inconsistent ideas of democracy and liberty. Then, then you enter the HPC world, but we have to kind of dial back to start with one of my heroes Francis Ellen Watkins Harper.
13:39:09 We know her as a poet, she was born in September, 25 1825, and she was the only child born to her parents who was named lost to history, and part from them not being recorded.
13:39:20 She was raised by her uncle William, and her on Henrietta, and her uncle William was very involved in the me church African Methodist Episcopal Church, and his activism greatly influenced her worldview, in abolition education and equality.
13:39:35 What happens in 1866, is that we're going to have the three Civil War amendments that are going to be passed in succession the 13th abolishing enslavement.
13:39:43 The 14th, ensuring the equal protection under the law, and ultimately the 15th amendment in franchising African American men and other property list, men of interest is that during that same window of time in 1867, in particular, you're going to have
13:39:57 the largest birth of HPC proliferation. There are nine HPC us, of which Howard and Morgan and seven others share 1867 as the Natal date, so she's delivering a speech in 1866, because there's conversation in the Congress to discuss a universal suffrage
13:40:16 bill to have as an amendment to the Constitution. And so there is conversation in the air in the wake of the Civil War, how to kind of rebuild the country and consider universal suffrage, so she gives a speech in May of, 1866, entitled, we're all bound
13:40:32 up together.
13:40:33 And in this speech he addresses the National Women's Rights convention and her speech goes very clearly to acknowledge the implicit racial bias within women's movement, and it's prior to the passage of the Fifth Amendment.
13:40:46 She says, I say that that justice is not fulfilled, so long as women is an equal before the law. We are all bound up together and one great bundle of humanity and society cannot trample on the weakest and the feeble service members, without receiving
13:41:02 curse on its own soul. She goes further to say I do not believe that giving the woman the ballot is going to immediately immediately cure all the ills of life. I do not believe that white women are dewdrops Jessica hailed from the skies.
13:41:13 I do not believe that white women are dewdrops Jessica hailed from the skies. I think that like men they may be divided into three classes, the good, the bad, and the indifferent.
13:41:26 The good would vote according to their convictions and principles, the bad as dictated by prejudice or malice and the indifferent will vote on the strongest side of the question with the winning party.
13:41:30 She goes further talk of giving women the ballot box. Go on. It is a normal school, and the white woman of this country needed. While there exists this brutal element in society which tramples upon the feeble and treads down the week, I tell you that
13:41:43 if there's any class of people who need to be lifted out of their area. Nothing's and selfishness, it is the white woman of America.
13:41:57 Towards this end when you think about the 1860s, as the end of the Civil War, the passage of the Civil War amendments. The idea of African Americans pre free or antebellum free and slave persons Baltimore was the largest concentration of pre Civil War
13:42:06 free black people so there was a level of understanding and a level of rigorous engagement, and this is where Morgan is going to be birthed in 1867 as a centenary biblical Institute, founded by the Washington Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
13:42:20 So there's going to be a lot of activity in the origins and the genesis of Morgan toward his idea of equality civil rights and equity. So some of my friends is Harper speaking very clearly in an educated way about racism is going to set the tone for who
13:42:35 Morgan is going to be ultimately Coppin buoy and Umes will also birth as well. So what happens to Francis Harper after that speech is that she is expunged from the white narrative of suffrage, there was a six volume Compendium on the suffrage movement,
13:42:50 and you will not find Francis Harper's name mentioned, they chose to in their memory to institute Harriet Tubman, who was elected in part because of her less, less engaging views, because Harriet Tubman and Francis Harper both contemporaries born the
13:43:05 the 1820s Harper's born in Baltimore City Tubman is gonna be born on the eastern shore, one is going to receive formal education, one is going to be born in slave, so their worldviews might have been different, but we are very much aware that Harriet
13:43:17 Tubman was no lightweight. She was very clear because she took direct agency over the system of enslavement and liberated herself and others so that's also very important to kind of look at how they choose to redirect or rewrite the history.
13:43:31 So if we go further into understanding how African Americans suffer devolves, there's going to be an empowering socialization process and particular understanding of womanhood.
13:43:41 This is going to happen the 1896 era, with the National Association of colored women, and you'll see that I have purple stars on Mary church Terrell and Mary McLeod Bethune two names that are going to be stalwart in the right fight for the vote.
13:43:56 So service citizenship and the vote Dr. Stephanie Shaw and what a woman ought to be and do Chronicle three generations of professional African American women one between 1880 and 1950.
13:44:07 This is when you're going to find your African American women suffer just on HBC campuses, growing in a parallel stream to this definition. These women did not stumble upon these leadership roles accidentally nor were they in general born to them.
13:44:21 They achieved leadership through an empowering socialization process, and a particular understanding of womanhood, as they experienced it, you're going to see Dr Matthews presentation, the formation of the three collegiate sororities at Howard University,
13:44:34 two of which were very much involved in the suffrage movement, one that was actually founded the year of the amendment being passed. So you're going to see that these black women on the college campuses and in these University spaces are going to be very
13:44:45 clear on a disdain they womanhood as a universal experience, in part because of their race.
13:44:50 So let's look at the formation of the National Association of College women's clubs. It was born in the wake of a derogatory statement made by journalists James W jack, who wrote the Negroes in this country are wholly devoid of morality.
13:45:03 The women are prostitutes, out of 200 in this vicinity. It is doubtful if there are a dozen virtuous women of that number who are not daily thieving from white people.
13:45:13 Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin my homeboy from Boston Massachusetts responded by saying we need to take over. Not only those things which are vital importance to us as women, but also those things that are special interest to us as colored women by the training
13:45:27 training of our children, how they can be prepared for occupations. Ultimately, how to make the most of our own opportunities. So when you see people like Mary church Terrell, and you're going to see Mary McLeod Bethune you're going to see different shades
13:45:39 of complexion. But as Dr. Shaw has says that generation that was born between the 1880s and 1950 were very clear that irrespective of their complexion, or their region or their station in life there was a universal experience to African American womanhood.
13:45:54 So we start with Mary church Terrell 118 63, she passed away in 1954. She is the daughter of and slave parents who rose to greatness in us being a civil rights pioneer, she served as the first president of the NAC WC or the National Association of code
13:46:10 women's clubs, which still exists on the 16th and our street Northwest Washington DC. She was influence and five languages, and she actually traveled to Germany and delivered her speech in German on the conditions of African American women, and it caught
13:46:23 a lot of response because she did not quote in their minds look African American, and she did indicate that that is part of the history of this oppression.
13:46:30 She picked it and did direct protests in agitating for race and gender equity. The her papers are the Library of Congress as well as the smallest when God Research Center.
13:46:40 So we entered Mary McLeod Bethune who's going to dovetail, the idea of national leadership that Mary church Terrell is going to implement. So she's gonna be born in 1875, she passes away in 1955.
13:46:53 She's the daughter of enslaved parents and her and aspiration initially was to be a Christian missionary for the Presbyterian Church to West Africa, her dreams were derailed when the church tonight or the ability to go, and she then use the Education
13:47:06 with assistance from Lucy craft lady answered missions field, and she would eventually become a stateswoman. She serves as the sixth president of the NAC WC or the national association called women's clubs, and in 1935 she establishes the National Council
13:47:21 of Negro women as a lobbying agency, on behalf of Negro, women, and children. She's also going to found a school.
13:47:31 The Food, Cooking University is the school that was fledgling out of her detained, Tina Daytona normal school that she founded. So when we come to watch Baltimore I have to remember hybrid, we come to Maryland, we look at Morgan State, there's going to
13:47:46 be it, Rebecca Cummings, she was actively involved in the clubs and other movements and programs in Baltimore. And from 1910 to 1916. She was the corresponding secretary for the National Association of color women's clubs, do you see a thread being woven
13:47:59 through all of this in terms of how black women in terms of their experience in their socialization process sought to galvanize themselves in club, and in unity, so she is going to encounter a Mary Margaret Mary Washington Booker T Washington his third
13:48:15 wife, Mary Burnet Talbert who's gonna come out of Buffalo, New York, and a Mary McLeod bassoon, who's also going to be in Washington DC, New York and Florida, as well as other national leaders in the black woman's movement.
13:48:27 She's going to work in Maryland with Estelle Hall young who is going to be a prolific suffrage woman in Maryland and the state of Maryland from montgomery county to Baltimore City throughout various parts of the state, and together they advocated for
13:48:39 suffrage coming served as a vice president of the Maryland federation of Christian women in 1915 and Young was the president of the color women's suffrage club.
13:48:49 They also participated in the Maryland federation of Christian women as and when a record of being in favor of women's suffrage, like her mother Cummings was civically engaged throughout her life and she was a school teacher.
13:49:02 So in Baltimore City what we're finding is that school teachers form the matrix of those individuals who become the advocates and the agitation and the agency for black franchise both male, as well as eventually women's for it as a franchise, so she's
13:49:16 born in Baltimore City.
13:49:19 in Baltimore City. On March 17 1868. She is the granddaughter of enslaved persons, so she had within her recent history and understanding of the lack of citizenship, that enslaved people experienced.
13:49:30 So when you drill down a little more into Baltimore City, you're going to find a group called the Dubois circle. And in response to the call of web two boys and William Monroe Trotter Margaret Gregory Hawkins mini games, Eva Jennifer and Mrs.
13:49:44 Garrett Waller and Caroline cook are going to meet and they're going to form what it's called the Baltimore Niagara movement and they formally become to deploy circle.
13:49:55 In February, 17 is actually 1907 part my date they're 1907, and they basically formed this organization that's going to live out that same idea of the Niagara movement for for citizenship for for justice and equality.
13:50:08 The first presidents going to be Margaret Hawkins, from 1906 to 1913 mini games from 1914 to 1918 and Miss el Steptoe 1920 1921 is crucial to understand that their involvement in club work was simply about suffrage and community awareness and they understood
13:50:24 the intersection of race and gender, this is all going to be happening under the shadow of what would then be at that time, Morgan college didn't come Morgan State College 1939, but these are women that are going to be highly educated involved in this
13:50:36 HPC matrix, as well as in the classroom as teachers, living out this attempt to claim full citizenship. So the leadership of the deploy several utilize their meetings to cultivate understanding, raise awareness of select issues, and to agitate before
13:50:53 citizenship. They're going to affiliate with an idea Cummings who's going to be on the board of trustees at Morgan college she's the first woman to serve in the 1920s so they're using their networks both church civic social to galvanize the movement for
13:51:06 the vote. Here we have Margaret Gregory Hawkins who was born on August 5 and 1877 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania to James M Gregory and Fanny Hagen, she is the founding member of the circle she seated here, and I have to thank Dr matches with this picture
13:51:21 that's also at the Moreland spin gun Research Center, and this is her father James Monroe, and her mother Fanny Hagen, we have actually gone further to know that this is just a side note for the genealogists that Margaret's great grandfather was a man
13:51:35 from Madagascar, who traveled from Madagascar and the 1820s and move to Western Maryland, where he met his or her future great grandmother.
13:51:43 So she's a NEO native and she was named for Margaret the elder her grandmother, and that she lived out the conviction of her namesake, through pursuing equality and providing access for younger people.
13:51:53 So that's very important she does actually matriculated Howard University as well, but she moved to Baltimore in the 19 Arts, and she married a man named Mason Hawkins, who was a Harvard University graduate, but his brother actually attended Morgan State
13:52:07 University, and they formed the matrix of a civil rights power couple during that time period.
13:52:14 Also in Baltimore City is going to be a gusto Louis Zell, who was born in Baltimore on December 23 1880. She is going to be born to William S Lewis and Sarah Lewis, and she was a dedicated member of the boys circle as well as a member of the women's civic
13:52:28 League and the progressive women's suffrage club. But what she does which is unusual is that she leads a series of articles in the afro American newspaper, which is currently house at Morgan State University, and a series called a primer for women voters.
13:52:43 So what she actually does is after the constitutional amendment is passed, she creates an article series of four weeks in the afro as a q amp a she's asking people to say send in your questions to me, women who are now in franchise.
13:52:56 Let's have a discussion about the vote. So one question here says, as this is my first time to vote. And some people are advising and independent spirit, I'm thinking of supporting the Democratic ticket.
13:53:06 What do you think, as violet. Her answer here the question naturally rises should we cling in our first love, or is it advisable at this particular time to forsake the party that has always done the most for us to fleet the one that offers no inducement,
13:53:23 but after election day has all hassle often sought to remove those rights and privileges guaranteed by the Constitution. It seems to me that of the two evils the Republican Party is certainly the least, so she is making a statement about how political
13:53:37 parties were formed at this time. This is during the 1920s.
13:53:41 Then she does this on her last article I believe is in October, 7, and she says the question here is, there are some men who will be up for election in this state.
13:53:52 In November, who have bitterly oppose women's suffrage says Beatrice. What do you think of women supporting that her answer. Women should weigh the question very clearly not from the standpoint of resentment, but from the standpoint of justice.
13:54:04 So this is conversation that we actually have documented by these women who we have pulled together such small crumbs because they leave no magnificent archival collections, but we know their names were able to connect with these names and build out their
13:54:21 lifestyles, in a skeletal fashion. Now the first fruits of suffrage, is where Morgan State now steps in so even though the suffrage movement of the 1850s to 1920 with the passage of the amendment is very important understand that Maryland African American
13:54:32 women did not really receive the vote to 1941, and it's not going to be until 1958, that the state is going to vote to certify the ratification. So even though it passed in 1920 on the federal level, there was what we called obfuscation or these extra
13:54:47 efforts to kind of make the vote Nolan Boyd for black women.
13:54:51 And we also know with the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. It took additional legislation by the federal government to ensure that all African Americans at all citizens with the Latinos, Asians also experienced levels of frustration with voting
13:55:05 would be allowed to vote.
13:55:06 So there are two first fruits of suffrage. Well, more than women who are accountable, and up terms of the African American suffrage movement who have archival collections at Morgan State that might be of interest into protobuf suffrage movement women.
13:55:20 So the National Council of Negro women, was I said math founded by Mary McLeod the phone and Charlotte Hawkins Brown says the headquarters stands for unity and purpose and ideals, is an Open sesame to United endeavors to prove to the world that nigra
13:55:34 womanhood can move forward to battle against the evils and handicaps that beset the path of all women, we dedicate this building, not to neglect womanhood alone for democracy is to be a reality in our beloved America, all women must be welcome.
13:55:46 So this is what the NCNW is going to do. victory Adams, along with another Morgan night Kate Shepherd Juanita Jackson Mitchell, give me an Allen and Emma deadly charter, the Baltimore section of the MC NW, free of these women were school teachers, one
13:56:01 of the lawyer and one of the political activists are organized and they sought to address a societal needs to change in Baltimore City this 1943, Maryland to ratify the boat from 1941 and then I'm going to certify that ratification to 58 so it helps you
13:56:15 it helps you understand the timeline. So here's a picture of victory Adams. She's the daughter of working class parents. She went to kaput normal school to obtain her certificate in teaching.
13:56:25 She didn't migrate to Baltimore's Morgan State College at that time, she graduated in 1940, to have her Bs and education, what she does is she establishes the colored women's democratic Campaign Committee, and she echoes the ideas of bassoon and others
13:56:41 who were that pre 1920s group that talked about universal suffrage, and she says as women of a political group we must aim to stimulate and educate the public on the value of the ballot.
13:56:54 All of the ills that confront us could be eliminated, or greatly relieved by the skillful use of the ballot at election time. We must teach our people to vote, not for men, but for issues, she to once again was a school teacher.
13:57:05 So you're seeing the idea of how school teacher taking their classroom, outside of the four walls and making it relevant to the community. This is a program that's held in I believe that means collection, and it shows you the names there is it Cummings,
13:57:18 there is victory but then we also see that Mary McLeod Bethune was visiting in Baltimore City, and I think the date 1948. So this is very interesting to see this kind of overlapping of a national figure, such as Mary McLeod the phone in Baltimore City
13:57:34 and it's also funded by the Iota chapter of Kappa mu sorority. So once again you find these interlocking interlocking circles are overlapping circles of black womanhood and doing the work for suffered.
13:57:46 So voter rights education, we know that the 1940s was very tumultuous, she's going to found that in 1946 the colored women's democratic Campaign Committee, and their motto was if democracy is worth fighting for.
13:57:59 It's worth voting for, and they sought to welcome all women register all and enlightened all interest more women in politics stimulate, and educate the public on the value of the ballot.
13:58:15 Register more people get out the vote at election time and take part in the Civic, political, and social progress of the city. This is all her collection.
13:58:20 So the idea that it's not just showing up. When we're voting, but to be consciously engaged typically engaged on all the issues that eventually make it to the ballot.
13:58:28 What she would do in the CW DCC is invite candidates to her home. And these are her club members able to dialogue and discuss with the candidate his agenda, and for them to share their interests and what they would like to see done in their community.
13:58:43 The collection is very rich in terms of its photographs, as well as documentation. What the CWD cc sought to do was to make the political process relatable through teaching about the issues, and to also incorporate additional aspects of political consciousness
13:58:58 and empowerment and through subtle and direct intention, its members a lot of interest more women in politics stimulate and educate the public on the value of the ballot, and to take an active part and social and civic life, as well as political activities
13:59:12 in the community. So I think that's very interesting and she also integrated children. And then there was a men's Brigade, so it wasn't just simply the women but they were reaching out to both men, as well as children.
13:59:23 Through their efforts. The second Morgan graduate who was one of the first fruits of African American Woman Suffrage activity would be Berta Freeman welcome.
13:59:30 She was an African American women politician. She graduated from Morgan in 1939 and but she started out and she was also a school teacher and she eventually goes into community activism in her neighborhood, and she enters politics in 1958, becoming the
13:59:46 first woman, African American woman elected to the Maryland house of delegates from the fourth district in Baltimore City in 1962 she was the first woman elected to the Maryland State Senate, making her the first African American woman elected to any
14:00:00 US state senate position. And that's a Morgan State graduate and her collection is coming in, in bits and pieces I'm talking to her daughter, and we have some items on site that we're actually trying to get more items from Mary, and we're going to hopefully
14:00:14 have those materials soon.
14:00:16 So the legacy of African American suffrage and I love what the room Bennett says and this is actually founded victories collection. Is it the mission of the black politician is to do what white politicians have failed to do, and that was to define and
14:00:28 and actualize liberty and equality as a faith and a way of life. That is the historic mission of the black politician, advancing designs and policies for 1000 tomorrow's for all.
14:00:39 And Dr Penn closes her book by saying racism aside, many white suffers sought the vote for themselves, only. Conversely, African American women were universal suffragist in a sense that their voices called for the vote for all citizens, not just for themselves.
14:00:55 So that's in line with what the HPC community was doing during that Civil War era, and which we saw the proliferation of the nine HPC us that lead to Morgan State University and Howard University respectively.
14:01:07 So the legacy and impact of African American soccer just resulted in a positive outcome from collaboration and voter education from the Women's Club movement through collegiate sororities and church groups they blazed a trail through up and through a
14:01:23 pathways in the political wilderness here's a picture of victory on your left.
14:01:28 And this is her husband, Willie Adams. And this man here loyal random was a mentor of hers. But these all these men are politicians so what she's going to do is change the optics, in terms of who and what a politician looks like.
14:01:40 And then you have another generation later with Shirley Chisholm and the female members of the Black Caucus here is parent Mitchell, Morgan State University graduate as well.
14:01:49 So once again you see the idea which these HPC us proliferate the effort for the ballot prior to 1920, as well as the 18 75th amendment, but also moving forward to get the voting rights legislation of 819 65, and even into the 21st century, what we saw
14:02:05 in Atlanta. So there is a deep footprint of African American HPC you activity, and alumni involved as all good archivists do here my citations and sources, and I would gladly put the site for the Davis room in the chat so you can see what other collections
14:02:21 we have, but in brief, I just want to celebrate the legacy and the agency of African American women suffer just as well as those first, second, third and fourth fruits of their efforts that we live in the wake of today for the poor to your questions.
14:02:35 Thank you so much.
14:02:38 Thank you, Dr. Jones That was awesome. And I like to say that thanks also for highlighting the African American women's clubs movement that advocated for the right to vote.
14:02:52 Thank you so much. And now we just move forward to dr Matthews, take it away.
14:03:01 I've already introduced yes you have to unmute myself. Thank you.
14:03:08 I was just trying to unmute myself. Thank you. So thank you all for being here today i'm going to share my screen.
14:03:13 As you see, I had, Dr. Jones go first, so that she could, you know, give you a background she's going to give a little more history. And I'm just going to focus on collections at Moreland Spingarn.
14:03:30 As you all know, many of our HPC us have history related to the fight for women's suffrage, because they were the institutions that supported the social movements, as they were happening there students with their and their professors with their, their
14:03:46 leaders were there. And so a lot of HPC us have this material in their collection and so I'm just going to give you a peek into what we have at the Marlon Spingarn Research Center.
14:03:59 And one of the first collections is Jeanette Carter and Jeanette Carter was very active in republican party politics. She fought for women's suffrage, as you see on the slide.
14:04:10 She was president of the women's wage earners Association.
14:04:14 And so this is a woman who was very active in fighting for women's suffrage, and the rights of black women.
14:04:22 And so this is she's not as quite well known as maybe a marriage to rail or I to be wells or someone like that. But she is someone who was very active.
14:04:32 And so this would be a collection. That would be of interest.
14:04:52 When you were looking at the role of black women, and suffered another collection, that would be useful to you would be the roof and family collection.
14:04:48 Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, who you see pictured here on the sly. She started the new era club. She was very active in the National Association of color women's clubs and her work and the work of other black women in getting women the right to vote is
14:05:08 documented in this collection.
14:05:27 Garrett Smith, who is not a black person also has
14:05:23 a collection at Moreland Spingarn that highlights the work of men and women in fighting for women's suffrage during the 1800s, because one of the things that, you know, we must remember we typically focus on, or some people focus on that period just before
14:05:41 when we get the right to vote we had the marches, but the fight for women's rights and really the fight for equality in general started decades before.
14:05:57 Audi and say it started in the 1700s with the founding of America. And so, here is another collection.
14:06:04 It talks about women's suffrage prison reform, the abolition movement.
14:06:07 And so there are you know several collections like this that are available that speak to women's suffrage but other reform movements as well.
14:06:21 Another collection, very well known is Mary church throughout America it's two L's collection of course she was very active in civil rights very active in the women's suffrage movement.
14:06:33 She wrote about it she talked about it. She was physically present be talking about her in her collection, but she also appears and other collections at Moreland.
14:06:47 And I'm moving fast just because I do want to have questions and I do want to have dialogue so I'm not going to belabor this.
14:06:58 So,
14:07:01 this collection, of course, documents are extensive work in women's suffrage.
14:07:10 A lot of this material.
14:07:12 Because as black, I said earlier, I am the digital production librarian for Moreland Spingarn. And a lot of this, or the information about this can be found on our digital Howard website is dh that our.edu.
14:07:30 Always promoting.
14:07:34 So we do have some digital collections that speak to women's suffrage.
14:07:40 You may not think that you can find information about women's suffrage in the yearbooks, but you can, as I mentioned, the students at HPC us. We're very active in protesting for black right.
14:07:56 And so you see information related to marches and protests and events surrounding women's suffrage documented in yearbooks, and I just have two instances that I mentioned here in the Howard year book, which is the yearbook of the College of Arts and Sciences.
14:08:18 They noted that on December 619 15 young women of the university marched in the national suffrage parade.
14:08:26 I've heard much reference to the 1913 women's suffrage parade in DC, but you don't really hear people talk about the 1915 National suffrage parade in Washington DC.
14:08:41 In, and I could not begin to pronounce the name of this year book is a very into Greek, but the yearbook on the left, however you pronounce that they reference, a student named Hattie may Harris, and they say that she's gonna become so fond of adventure
14:08:59 that she began to tour the world while she was passing through Chicago, she became interested in the suffrage movement. So she is now making stump speeches to secure votes for women.
14:09:10 And that's just saying that that's what you know was predictions of what they're going to do in the future. And so understanding who these people are and what they're doing.
14:09:19 They're going to be active.
14:09:22 And so those are just two quotes that I pulled out, because I just, I liked those quotes, and I think they just highlight what the students were up to what they were thinking a lot of information regarding the suffrage movement, student activism in the
14:09:43 suffrage movement is found in our universities here in the university journal which you see the motto is no excellence without labor was the first student newspaper and how it was started in 1895.
14:09:58 It stopped in about 1920 1921 22.
14:10:04 And then we'll have succeeded by the hilltop founded by Zora Neale Hurston.
14:10:09 This student newspaper which is available on digital Howard, and it's searchable documents a lot of student activism related to women's suffrage, they talk about parades they talk about marches they talk about speeches that document the work of as that
14:10:25 Jones mentioned the black sororities on campus, such as Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta and their actions in fighting for women's suffrage.
14:10:35 I just highlighted two articles that just discuss women's suffrage, because it was a topic on campus and it was a topic that they discussed quite frequently.
14:10:48 As you see, Mary church Tara came to campus, and
14:10:56 gave a lecture at Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel, talking about women's suffrage. They talk about her recent trip to Berlin, as a delegate to the International Congress of women that Dr.
14:11:09 Jones meant.
14:11:12 You know, so, Howard students are talking about it, they're being inspired by it.
14:11:17 And, as they say at the end of this article.
14:11:21 The entire student body was present, and at the conclusion of the exercises repair to their respective classrooms refreshed and inspired.
14:11:32 And so, you know, they're talking about what inspired the students to pro to march. And they're also discussing the activities, pushing towards women's suffrage and you see this all throughout the whole university do.
14:11:48 And I often when people are asking about it, direct them to the university journal, because they talk, they discuss so much. The suffrage movement and the activities of the students and so the yearbooks, and the university journal or a great source of
14:12:06 material for women's suffrage.
14:12:11 And that doesn't our, because when you know I mentioned how it affected our students, but they talk about what's happening in the world as well. They are just Howard centric, they're talking about what's happening all over the country.
14:12:25 Because you know they didn't exist in a vacuum. They understood that, you know, they're part of the wider world, and they needed to discuss those things.
14:12:33 So that's available that searchable.
14:12:38 We also have digitized Marion check carries collection, Marion said Carrie was a noted evolutionist and women's suffrage suffragette.
14:12:47 One of the documents on the site is her speech.
14:12:52 The right of women to exercise the elective franchise under the 14th Article of the Constitution.
14:13:16 There are other documents in her digital collection that speak to women's suffrage, but I just decided I'll highlight this one.
14:13:08 And so her collection is digitize, not a large collection. But, collecting it speaks to women's suffrage.
14:13:33 Another collection someone who hasn't been mentioned, is Anna Julia Cooper, and a Julia Cooper was a black feminist, she was an educator, she founded her own university freely house and university, and in her scrapbooks and in her writings, she talks
14:13:37 about women's suffrage she talks about the fight for equality. She has an article, the 14th amendment, a confession of faith, where she talks about what black people actually want in the fight for civil rights in the fight for women's suffrage.
14:13:59 And,
14:13:59 you know, she's like she says, Here I am not a new Negro. This is not merely because my hair is great and I'm Bob, but to say the truth. I think the new Negro racket has been a bit overdone.
14:14:09 I confess I am a trifle weary of it. So she speaks her mind not, you know, the popular refrain. But she says that.
14:14:23 And she says, In this article that she's not fighting for equality to be with white people cease fighting for equality, to have a better life for people.
14:14:33 We need to fight for the vote to have to be able to exercise our rights as citizens. That's the goal.
14:14:40 So she says that her writings and so this is a different perspective.
14:14:45 When you look at the fight for civil rights the fight for women's suffrage, you know see paints it as you know just equality, not necessarily the desire to integrate.
14:14:56 So that's just a different kind of view of women suffer is that you don't hear too often so I wanted to highlight Hamad Julia Cooper, and her, her thoughts, you can see it in her scrapbooks, you can see it in her writings and those are available digitally
14:15:13 on digital Howard.
14:15:17 Now, I couldn't tell you everything that is in our collection because we do have an expansive collection. But what I will say is that one of the things that coven has allowed us to do is coded and allowed us to be creative about the things that we can
14:15:32 do at home. And we have created a guide to resources on women's suffrage, which we produced AGC April 2020, so just one year ago, one of our student workers actually went through the digital collection and researched resources related to women's suffrage,
14:15:54 and that is available on digital Howard with links to either the finding aid or the digital collection, if we're the digital object, if it's available on digital Howard.
14:16:07 And so you can get to that at dh that our.edu slash MSR see we actually have a number of other resource guides there to help find what you're looking for in the collection.
14:16:23 This is how it is also searchable so you can search the finding aids there as well so that'll help you as well but this is just a peek into the resources that we have women's suffrage.
14:16:36 And I will say that, you know, this looking at this and looking at resources related to women's suffrage just always reminds me of the importance of HPC Archives and Special Collections because they do have these documents that they have been preserving
14:16:55 for hundreds of years and so I appreciate doing this type of presentation just to highlight the records and not necessarily do a narrative, because it just shows the wealth of resources that we all have in our repositories and so I am glad to be here
14:17:10 with Dr. Jones as she pointed out the records that she had. Glad to be here with Miss Belle because she's at Hampton. Another place that has a significant archive of material related to African American history.
14:17:24 And so, and I thank you all for being with us today to learn about this history because it is significant and it is important. So, thank you.
14:17:34 That was very that was outstanding.
14:17:39 Because I wanted. One of the questions I had was about collections Where are these people's papers, could be found.
14:17:47 Dr. Jones mentioned I think burrows collection was at the Library of Congress, so. Exactly. If that's not correct and stand to be corrected. But that was awesome and very informative.
14:18:01 And I like to now move on to questions that we may have.
14:18:10 And the presentation is both of them or just wonderful.
14:18:12 Thank you very much. So we have one question I think that was asked answer, but I will repeat it for everybody. What you're there to rail travel to Germany to make that speech and engine.
14:18:27 Regarding African American women and what was the response from the German people at the time.
14:18:35 Dr. Jones says that it was in 1990 1904.
14:18:41 And when she attended the international women's conference, I don't know exactly how or what the response was at the time but if any, if anybody wanted to respond to that about what the German people added they respond to her speech,
14:18:58 just jump right on in.
14:19:01 And they someone else wanted to know what other language did to rail speed. sighs German and English.
14:19:10 I was going to put in the chat, and thank you, Gladys put in the chat that the other language I believe a French, Spanish course English, and there's a book that just came out with Alison Parker called MCC militant would be far more articulate about all
14:19:23 all the nuances of Terrell's life I don't want to misspeak so I'm going to put that title of that book by Alison Parker in the chat, but from my understanding in terms of how she was received in Germany.
14:19:35 It was with mixed response because they understood the idea of oppression in a theoretical framework, but they could not really grasp the concept of race prejudices, as Americans experienced it because America had one pub the public relations of America
14:19:50 was this lovely bashing democracy and inclusion, but the practice was much more contrary this goes all the way up to World War Two, as well as I eaten most recently, too, in terms of how America lives its life versus how it promotes its life.
14:20:01 So it was a mixed response in terms of what are you saying we read the newspapers we see the media, and it's not that way but we're living our life contrary to that and that's why they remarked about her collection, because I couldn't see how are you
14:20:11 an African American and you're speaking German You don't even know like an African American Public Relations and popular culture impacted that.
14:20:20 Thank you, sir. Um, how did her start the hilltop newsletters another collect question.
14:20:28 Alexis feel.
14:20:31 Well, she started the hilltop with a group of students you know we often mentioned Zora Neale Hurston because he's the most well known, but they were a group of students who felt that there needed to be a student voice at Howard, you know with the closure
14:20:44 of the university journal. There was no student voice at Howard. And so that's why they started, they wanted to be able to share their thoughts and feelings and so they came together and they actually paid for the printing found a printer and started
14:21:01 printing the newspaper so they did it independent of the university.
14:21:05 And so that's how they started they raise their own funds, and sold it for me.
14:21:12 Mr. Howard bread I didn't know that she started that that's very informative.
14:21:18 So, I had a question too about the student newspaper Were there any articles in the, in the hilltop or other, the former newspaper
14:21:31 about about suffrage, and the movement.
14:21:37 Yes. Yeah, they talk, they, they talked about suffrage a lot. And they talked about everyone who was involved in it because one of the things that you learn they like to discuss who was involved in who wasn't involved and, you know, young people like
14:21:51 to call everybody out, and you know people have been the same.
14:21:56 Forever and so they mentioned this professor was active this student was active. Oh, these people were down here doing this and so you know they really want it to be, you know, journalists and so they wanted to highlight everything that was happening,
14:22:13 like that second article in the name just left me but it's suffrage in the district. They weren't talking about what they were doing, they were talking about what was happening throughout Washington DC the city.
14:22:28 Okay, here's what's happening over here. Here's what's happening this place. You know, this is what they are doing in Congress about women suffer, and so they were surprisingly
14:22:44 open much less the word not open minded but they were surprisingly worldly.
14:22:48 I guess I don't think that's right we're looking in their view but they were outward looking in terms of women's suffrage in terms of civil rights, all the issues of the day, they talked about white philanthropy and its role on black campuses, which was,
14:23:07 you know, a tricky subject especially for Howard at the time since it hadn't had a black president. By that point, interest, lots of interesting people Dr.
14:23:20 Jones. The question is what is the relationship of the NC NW, and the NAC WC.
14:23:33 Did I guess is too, but you can answer that and then there was a part where did the NCNWC in ACWC.
14:23:44 Yes, there are some really personality politics there, it's my understanding in an armchair fashion that Mary McLeod Bethune was attempting to run for I believe a third term as president of DNA PwC, and she was tortured from doing so.
14:23:56 So she just walked away from it, and started the NCNWC was no schism in terms of her passing over tables and demanding to be and I'm not a third term or second time it was a third term.
14:24:10 She just simply left because what the NACWC did was more holistic and community and what Mrs Bethune wanted to do was more political lobbying and pushing that agitating basically on a governmental level change and she would also go to national with it.
14:24:25 it. So buffoons and cnw was founded explicitly for political lobbying on behalf of Negro women and children. And you see that during the 1940s with her campaign for the wax and the waves, integrating women into Armed Forces so that's really what she wanted
14:24:41 to do, and the NAC WC was not interested in that level of agitation. So there was just a parting of the way so they both still exist, both organizations still exist in a much if they do things jointly but they still exist.
14:24:55 We're either speaker, or both of you can respond How did African American men support African American women suffering in both the 19th and the 20th centuries.
14:25:12 Well I see Dr Lopez has that lovely deer in the headlights which I will, I will throw him a nice little boat here with a slight bit of meat.
14:25:19 Frederick Douglass was considered the feminist of the 19th century and he actually sat on the board of trustees of Howard University. So we know that he is a stalwart for that, then web two boys who is going to eventually move from Atlanta to Baltimore,
14:25:31 and then was called Morgan Park was another 20th century feminist. Of note is a person of interest I my poster behind me you can't see the full thing is Kelly Miller, who was at Howard University who has been called an anti suffragist, and he does write
14:25:44 one article that is probably at Howard University, that talks about his idea that women should not be involved in voting, and it wasn't the idea of that they weren't capable and competent, it was just at politics were very ugly, and that he believed that
14:25:56 that if women entered certain male spaces, they would be physically harmed with disregard for them being women, and he had two daughters who were formally educated and became professional so I know that those three men in particular who are affiliated
14:26:08 with HPC cultural activity or on both sides of the issue, but Kelly was at an ardent anti suffragist, he was just simply as a almost like a Vulcan like mine, saying that because people were physically being assaulted in the halls of Congress with whips
14:26:21 and gunshots that he did not see women being treated as, quote, The gentler sex and that had they entered a male space, they would have probably encountered physical harm at that era.
14:26:34 Yeah. And I would just add that as I mentioned Garrett Smith was involved in women's suffrage, as Dr. Jones been tonight.
14:26:47 was actively involved in fighting for women's suffrage, some of the male students, and how we're not all of them, but some of them, you know, I don't want to paint a false narrative here but some of the supported the women in fighting for women's suffrage,
14:27:03 and you see that come out, particularly in a little bit near book but mostly in the university journal that's probably, if you're looking at what students are doing, that's a great source.
14:27:17 You can find some of in America it's Charles collection on Dr. Kelly Miller as well because he is the Dean of Students, and he wouldn't let them go to the parade without a chaperone So Andrew t Montgomery Gregory chaperone tema Gary Gregory time so I
14:27:33 never gave is collected as it how it's that's documented there. It's one of the collections I didn't mention, but you know it's throughout many of these activists.
14:27:51 During the period were also ardent suffragists or women's suffrage is because they understood that, you know, any inequality is leads to more inequality.
14:28:08 And so they understood that everyone had to have their equality for us to have an equal society and so a lot of them were not everyone that everyone you know you got to be clear, because they were still some sexist and so, you know, even as I say look
14:28:16 at the university journal you know you have to keep in mind that it was in the early 1900s so they were not as progressive in terms of their language regarding the sexes.
14:28:32 So you read some stuff and you're like, oh, but I have to keep in mind the times, is I did I read an article and I said wow that's kind of sexist, you know I wouldn't fly today, but back then, you know, that's the way people spoken so you have to kind
14:28:44 of go.
14:28:47 So, so that not saying so not everybody, but they were sent a question for you, Dr.
14:28:57 A question for you, Dr. Could you clarify about the how our universal journey.
14:29:02 Was it also did it also document activities of alumni and faculty, staff to suffer.
14:29:12 And one of the things that I mentioned as, as you said the word alumni.
14:29:16 One of the other collections that is digital that failed to mention was the Howard University record, and how University record was the Howard magazine have its day, and a documented the activities of the students and the faculty and the alumni.
14:29:34 And so you can find that in. You can find it in the university journal, but you can find it in the power University record as well so that's another collection.
14:29:46 We can find more about with the alumni and faculty were doing, because they like to highlight people's activities there.
14:29:54 people's activities there. And so, between University journal and how University record. You can find more about the activities of the faculty and eliminate
14:30:07 then any other women, interact with federal government agencies, regarding suffers.
14:30:12 This is from Alexis he'll
14:30:20 eventually they're going to do so in terms of I know Janet Rankin who was the first woman elected to Congress I believe in 1917 or 1915 did come to Baltimore City to kind of push the needle and she was a white woman, I believe, but she would then eventually
14:30:33 take this petition are the names of these organizations with her. So even though they were not physically there, they were by proxy being represented on federal levels in terms of the displeasure that women have been denied the right to to the franchise.
14:30:46 And I mentioned I know by the 1920s when it's mid to late 1920s with the dire anti anti lynching bill, you're going to have a Mary church Terrell and and Mary McLeod Bethune engaging on that level to have certain legislation passed to basically stop the
14:31:00 murder of men and women and children African American men, women and children and lynching, so it's going to be a longer struggle like Dr pens is about universal suffrage or this kind of full citizenship so it's not just some of this.
14:31:12 This next amendment, this becomes yet another kind of stepping stone from the 15 to the 19th to the Voting Rights Act to where we are now how they defend the voting rights act in 2013 so it's been a perpetual flight.
14:31:23 Since 6019 for African American people to be included in the body politic so if we look at the long span of time yes they eventually did get there. Over issues that we're basically undeniably violence and undeniably inhumane.
14:31:37 But not for savage exclusively, but for the idea of their full citizenship rights.
14:31:43 Yeah, I would, i would second that as well.
14:31:47 Another collection that there's Thomas Montgomery Gregory's collection. And it talks about the work of the students with the federal government, particularly with the War Department and World War One.
14:31:59 They were very active and working with the War Department. The female students started working with the Red Cross even though it was segregated.
14:32:10 They also worked with the War Department. And so you see that in the records as well so mainly the War Department, some of them worked with Howard is a unique institution in that it was chartered as a federal charter.
14:32:27 And so it was technically started by the federal government. And so they have a close relationship
14:32:34 the federal government. And so they have a close relationship with the government and so they worked with various agencies Freeman's hospital was still a government agency until the 1950s I think until 1963 months hospital was, which is on the campus
14:32:50 it's a hospital that sits on Howard's campus started by the leaders of the Freedmen's Bureau Oh Howard who found is one of the name, who's the namesake of our one of the 17 founders, he was the director of the Freedmen's Bureau.
14:33:04 He chose to put the hospital, of the Freedmen's Bureau on the campus of Howard University. You know, I don't know if that was a quid pro quo thing but he put it there.
14:33:15 So that kind of another way that. Another thing that facilitated Howard's connection to the federal government and kept the students kind of connected to it.
14:33:26 And so, they tended to tread lightly.
14:33:32 When it came to dealing with the federal government, because they understood, you know, it wasn't quite where it is now we have a line in the Congressional Budget, we get a federal appropriation it was ok we get the money.
14:33:45 If you like us, so you know they were a lot more.
14:33:49 When it came to dealing with the federal government. Yeah.
14:33:56 Sometimes anniversaries encourage donations.
14:34:01 Have you had any potential donors, reach out to you doing suffered Centennial about donating women's suffrage, or women's activists collections, more than, generally, or have you done outreach to collect materials in relation to the separate anniversaries,
14:34:19 obviously, probably 19 has impacted donor relations.
14:34:24 So I did here I'd have mentioned, somebody's daughter that she outreach to join her presentation one of the activists daughter.
14:34:36 That's a question if you can answer.
14:34:39 That's a very good question. I actually know that I am working with the National votes for women's trail which is under the National collaborative women's history sites, I'm a DC state coordinator and I've identified five sites in Washington DC, three
14:34:52 African American into national organizations, and it has been a struggle to get land use permission how it University has once again the largest footprint in the city.
14:35:02 And I want to have a historical marker put there and there's been the Pomeroy foundation that is paying for these markers so it's not even a matter of pages, let me put this marker there, and I have been kind of stonewalled hot some level, not just with
14:35:14 Howard but also with other city agencies the NAC WC is also here, and they would rather in different to this market being place but just in brief, the National collaborative of women's history sites is partnering with the partner way foundation so they
14:35:47 then we can then get to maybe conversation into your pocket. And that way, get better. But Mary Sue, welcome and who I'm speaking to who is the daughter of Berta welcome has just come into some consciousness that when we celebrated for this 110th birthday
14:36:00 I think in 2017, because she didn't her mother is this magnificent person she's my mother.
14:36:05 So, and actually, Mary Sue actually defends the gentleman who was accused of the Atlanta child murders so she was a prominent lawyer. During her career path as well.
14:36:15 So we're in conversation we've been in conversation since 2017 about this, but there are a lot of emotions attached to this then there's also some other kinds of personal health challenge she's having so I'm trying to raise conscious about it, and hopefully
14:36:25 conscience will lead to conversation which will eventually lead to donation, so I'm in phase 1.2 of that so
14:36:36 other than Shirley Chisholm, did you have anything to say that the mappings about that.
14:36:44 Oh, no, I was just gonna say we've gotten a lot of Shirley Chisholm with any other African American women involved in the era support
14:36:59 new.
14:37:05 I want to say that the NCMW was involved in this, that would be Mary Dorothy heights era, and I wanted that Dorothy Height is going to bring the weight of the NCNW into this I saw Kevin made some notes in the chat as well.
14:37:16 So if Kevin wants to chime in, please do I kind of end by 1941 so I don't come into anything to reset. I like good dead history because everyone people are still living they want to change their narrative and do stuff, except for victory Adams because
14:37:28 she's Of course of interest but she passed away in 2006, but um I want to say that it's going to be the organization that the MC NW, we're going to fight for the era and I know that I think Virginia just recently passed their legislation to accept that
14:37:40 so there's still some states that are holding out. So I want to know that that organization, I want to say but nothing height would have been that person at that era.
14:37:49 And then she of course has an affiliation with Shirley Chisholm, in terms of this authority in that relationship so there's going to be that kind of overlapping push, that's the only thing I could think of at this juncture.