As you look through the memorabilia in your home and community, here are things you can look for, searching for information about women prior to 1930:

• Letters, journals, and photographs of African American women, particularly leaders in the church, school, or community;
• Newsletters and meeting notices published by African American Women’s Clubs;
• The archives of Historic Black Churches and newsletters published, especially if there was a Woman’s Council or Auxiliary;
• Family stories passed down about women’s voting experiences in the 1920s.

Here are examples of the these things:

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This is an example from the NAACP’s The Crisis Magazine, that includes essays by both men and women on the issue of Suffrage.

“Votes for Women: A Symposium by Leading Thinkers of Colored America,” The Crisis, published by the NAACP, New York, (August 1915), pp 178-192.

 

 

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This example is a reprint of the “Resolutions” of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs from their convention in Tuskegee, Alabama in July 1920.

Leaders urge women to get informed on issues such as:

• civic studies
• education issues
• temperance

Image source: Tennessee State Library and Archives

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Churches often supported the writings of African American women, that covered topics such as:

• women’s rights,
• suffrage,
• education,
• and racial uplift.

This book was written by Mrs. N. F. Mossell in 1894 with an introduction by Benjamin F. Lee, D.D., Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Source: New York Public Library Digital Collections

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Every photograph tells a story. Look through old photographs, letters, and journals of African American women, particularly leaders in the church, school, or community.