National Association of Colored Women 's Clubs - wikipedia National Association of Colored Women 's Clubs National Association of Colored Women 's Clubs Emblem The National Association of Colored Women Clubs ( NACWC ) is an American organization that was formed in July 1896 at the First Annual Convention of the National Federation of Afro - American Women in Washington, D.C., United States, by a merger of the National Federation of African - American Women, the Woman 's Era Club of Boston, and the National League of Colored Women of Washington, DC, at the call of Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin. From 1896 to 1904 it was known as the National Association of Colored Women ( NACW ). It adopted the motto `` Lifting as we climb '', to demonstrate to `` an ignorant and suspicious world that our aims and interests are identical with those of all good aspiring women. '' When incorporated in 1904, NACW became known as the National Association of Colored Women 's Clubs ( NACWC ). Contents 1 History 1.1 Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin and Mary Church Terrell 2 NACWC objectives 3 Presidents 4 Conventions 5 Notable affiliates 6 See also 7 Further reading 8 References 9 External links History Officers elected at the first meeting of the National Association of Colored Women, July 1896 President Mrs. Mary Church Terrell First Vice President Mrs. Fanny Jackson Coppin Second Vice President Mrs. Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin Third Vice President Mrs. F.E.W. Harper Fourth Vice President Mrs. Josephine Silone Yates Fifth Vice President Mrs. Sylvanie Williams Sixth Vice President Mrs. Ella V. Chase Williams Seventh Vice President Mrs. Lucy Thurman Recording Secretary Mrs. Alice Ruth Moore Corresponding Secretary Miss A.V. Thompkins Treasurer Mrs. Helen A. Cook Chairman of the Executive Committee Mrs. Margaret Murray Washington National Organizer Mrs. Victoria Earle Matthews Editorial Staff Mrs. Margaret Murray Washington, Dr. Rebecca Cole, Mrs. Rosa D. Bowser, Mrs. Ida Wells - Barnett, Mrs. Frances J. Jackson Ways and Means Committee Mrs. J. Napier Kemp, Miss Lulu Chase, Mrs. Ella Mahammitt, Miss Julia F. Jones Committee to Draft Constitution Mrs. A.V. Jones, Mrs. Anna Jones, Mrs. C.L. Franklin, Mrs. Rosa D. Bowser, and Mrs. V.E. Matthews Other significant attendees Mrs. John H. Smyth `` In 1895 an obscure man in an obscure Missouri town sent a letter broad - cast over this country and England, reflecting upon the character and morals of our Women. So utterly false were the vile statement, that the women were aroused as never before and when Mrs. Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, President of the New Era Club of Boston, called a meeting of protest in July 1895, the indignant women from North, South, East and West flocked to the `` Classic Hub '', and in no uncertain terms vindicated the honor of the Race. The National Federation of Colored Women 's Club was the result of that meeting, with Mrs. Booker T. Washington at its head. However, another National organization, the Women 's Loyal Union, with Mrs. Cooke ( née Helen Appo Cook ) as President existed at Washington and the women soon realized that two organizations so identically similar could not work harmoniously as separate units. Therefore, the two organizations met in July 1896, and each appointed a committee to arrange for a consolidation, which was effected and the National Association of C.W.C came into existence with Mrs. Mary Church Terrell, of international fame, as President. This joint session was attended by some of the most notable women of our Race, among whom were Harriet Tubman. Francis E.W. Harper, poet and writer, Victoria E. Matthews, founder of the White Rose Mission of New York, Josephine S. Yates, teacher and writer, an others. Mrs. Ida B. Wells Barnett and Elizabeth Lindsay Davis were the delegates from Illinois. '' Elizabeth Lindsay Davis, N.A.C.W.C. Historian, 1933 The National Association of Colored Women ( later National Association of Colored Women 's Clubs ) was established in Washington, D.C., on July 21, 1896. This first of what would later become biennial convention meetings of the association was held at the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church. The organizations attending this convention included the National Federation of Afro - American Women, the Women 's Era Club of Boston, and the National League of Colored Women of Washington, DC, the Women 's Loyal Union as well as smaller organizations that had arisen from the African - American women 's club movement. These organizations and later others across the country merged to form the National Association of Colored Women. The organization helped all African - American women by working on issues of civil rights and injustice, such as women 's suffrage, lynching, and Jim Crow laws. Founders of the NACWC included Harriet Tubman, Margaret Murray Washington, Frances E.W. Harper, Ida Bell Wells - Barnett, and Mary Church Terrell. Its two leading members were Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin and Mary Church Terrell. Their original intention was `` to furnish evidence of the moral, mental and material progress made by people of color through the efforts of our women ''. They organized to refute a letter written by James Jacks, the president of the Missouri Press Association, challenging the respectability of African - American women, and referring to them as thieves and prostitutes. During the next ten years, the NACWC became involved in campaigns in favor of women 's suffrage and against lynching and Jim Crow laws. They also led efforts to improve education, and care for both children and the elderly. By 1918, when the United States entered the First World War, membership in the NACWC had grown to an extraordinary 300,000 nationwide. Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin and Mary Church Terrell That the National Association of Colored Women was the most prominent organization formed during the African - American Woman Suffrage Movement was due chiefly to the efforts of Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin and Mary Church Terrell. Both women were educated and had economically successful parents. Born on August 31, 1842, in Boston, Josephine St. Pierre was the daughter of John St. Pierre, a successful clothes dealer from Martinique and Elizabeth Matilda Menhenick from Cornwall, England. Her parents supported her going to school in Salem for its integrated schools, rather than attend segregated ones in Boston. There Josephine St. Pierre flourished. At the age of 16, she married George Lewis Ruffin, who became the first African - American graduate of Harvard Law School. Among their early activities was recruiting black soldiers for the Union Army during the Civil War. National Association of Colored Women headquarters in Washington, D.C. After her husband died in 1886, Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin used part of her estate to fund Woman 's Era, the first journal published by and for African - American women. She was a vice-president of the National Association of Colored Women. In 1910 Ruffin enlarged her social activism by helping form the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP ). She died in March 1924. Mary Church Terrell was the daughter of Robert Church, Sr., a former slave and reputed son of a white master. Church, Sr. built a business and became one of the wealthiest black men in the South. He was able to send Mary to Oberlin College, where she earned both bachelor 's and master 's degrees. Years later Mary Church Terrell spoke at the Berlin International Congress of Women, giving her speech in fluent German and French, as well as English. She was the only black woman at the conference. Terrell was elected as the first president of the National Association of Colored Women in 1896. She led the struggle in Washington, DC against segregation in public eating places and succeeded in winning a court decision for integration there. Terrell died in Annapolis, Maryland, on July 24, 1954. NACWC objectives To work for the economic, moral, religious and social welfare of women and children. To protect the rights of women and children. To raise the standard and quality of life in home and family. To secure and use our influence for the enforcement of civil and political rights for all citizens. To promote the education of women and children through the work of effective programs. To obtain for African American families the opportunity of reaching the highest levels of human endeavor. To promote effective interaction with the organization 's male auxiliary. To promote inter-racial understanding so that justice and good will may prevail amongst all people. To hold informative workshops biennially at organization 's National Convention. Presidents Mary Church Terrell -- 1st President ( 1896 -- 1900 ) Josephine Silone Yates -- 2nd President ( 1900 -- 04 ) Lucy Thurman -- 3rd President ( 1904 -- 08 ) Elizabeth Carter Brooks -- 4th President ( 1908 -- 12 ) Margaret James Murray ( Mrs. Booker T. Washington ) -- 5th President ( 1912 -- 16 ) Mary B. Talbert -- 6th President ( 1916 -- 20 ) Miss Hallie Q. Brown -- 7th President ( 1920 -- 24 ) Mary McLeod Bethune -- 8th President ( 1924 -- 28 ) Mrs. Sallie Wyatt Stewart -- 9th President ( 1928 -- 33 ) Dr. Mary Fitzbutler Waring -- 10th President ( 1933 -- 37 ) Mrs. Jennie B. Moton -- 11th President ( 1937 -- 41 ) Mrs. Ada Belle Dement -- 12th President ( 1941 -- 45 ) Mrs. Christine S. Smith -- 13th President ( 1946 -- 48 ) Ella P. Stewart -- 14th President ( 1948 -- 52 ) Irene McCoy Gaines -- 15th President ( 1952 -- 58 ) Irene M. Gaines Dr Rosa L. Gragg -- 16th President ( 1958 -- 64 ) Mamie B. Reese -- 17th President ( 1964 -- 68 ) Myrtle Ollison -- 18th President ( 1968 -- 72 ) Juanita W. Brown -- 19th President ( 1972 -- 76 ) Inez W. Tinsley -- 20th President ( 1976 -- 80 ) Otelia Champion -- 21st President ( 1980 -- 84 ) Myrtle E. Gray -- 22nd President ( 1984 -- 88 ) Dolores M. Harris -- 23rd President ( 1988 -- 92 ) Savannah C. Jones -- 24th President ( 1992 -- 96 ) Patricia L. Fletcher -- 25th President ( 1996 -- 2002 ) Margaret J. Cooper -- 26th President ( 2002 -- 06 ) Dr. Marie Wright Tolliver - 27th President ( 2006 -- 10 ) Evelyn Rising - 28th President ( 2010 -- 14 ) Sharon R. Bridgeforth - 29th President ( 2014 -- present ) Conventions 1st, 1897, Nashville, Tennessee 2nd, 1899, Chicago, Illinois 3rd, 1901, Buffalo, New York 4th, 1904, St. Louis, Missouri 5th, 1906, Detroit, Michigan 6th, 1908, Brooklyn, New York 7th, 1910, Louisville, Kentucky 8th, 1912, Hampton, Virginia 9th, 1914, Wilberforce, Ohio 10th, 1916, Baltimore, Maryland 11th, 1918, Denver, Colorado 12th, 1920, Tuskeegee, Alabama 13th, 1922, Richmond, Virginia 14th, 1924, Chicago, Illinois 15th, 1926, Oakland, California 16th, 1928, Washington, D.C. 17th, 1930, Hot Springs, Arkansas 18th, 1933, Chicago, Illinois 19th, 1935, Cleveland, Ohio 20th, 1937, Fort Worth, Texas 21st, 1939, Boston, Massachusetts 22nd, 1941, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 23rd, 1946, Washington, D.C. 24th, 1948, Seattle, Washington 25th, 1950, Atlantic City, New Jersey 26th, 1952, Los Angeles, California 27th, 1954, Washington, D.C. 28th, 1956, Miami, Florida 29th, 1958, Detroit, Michigan 30th, 1960, New York, New York 31st, 1962, Washington, D.C. 32nd, 1964, Denver, Colorado 33rd, 1966, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 34th, 1968, Chicago, Illinois 35th, 1970, Atlantic City, New Jersey 36th, 1972, San Jose, California 37th, 1974, Atlanta, Georgia 38th, 1976, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 39th, 1978, Seattle, Washington 40th, 1980, Washington, D.C. 41st, 1982, Anchorage, Arkansas 42nd, 1984, Norfolk, Virginia 48th, 1986, Austin, Texas 49th, 1988, Orlando, Florida 50th, 1990, Cleveland, Ohio 51st, 1992, Portland, Oregon Notable affiliates Empire State Federation of Women 's Clubs Indiana State Federation of Colored Women 's Clubs Iowa Federation of Colored Women 's Clubs Mississippi State Federation of Colored Women 's Clubs Northeastern Federation of Colored Women 's Clubs South Carolina Federation of Colored Women 's Clubs Texas Association of Women 's Clubs See also African - American Woman Suffrage Movement Black Feminism The First National Conference of the Colored Women of America Further reading The Women of NACWC : Strong, Valiant, Innovative and on Whose Shoulders We Stand ( c ) 2012, revised 2016 by the National Association of Colored Women 's Clubs, Inc. References Jump up ^ `` Who Are We '', NACW. Jump up ^ `` National Association of Colored Women 's Clubs ( NACWC ) '', Encyclopædia Britannica. Jump up ^ See The Records of the National Association of Colored Women 's Clubs, 1895 - 1992, Part 1 : Minutes of National Conventions, and President 's Correspondence ( microfilm ) © National Association of Colored Women 's Clubs, 1995. Jump up ^ All United. Washington Bee ( Washington ( DC ), District of Columbia ). Saturday, July 25, 1896. Volume : XV Issue : 8 Page : 4 Jump up ^ Davis, Elizabeth Lindsay National Association of Colored Women : Lifting As They Climb, © National Association of Colored Women, 1933. Jump up ^ `` The Black Women 's Club Movement ''. DeColonizing Our History. Retrieved 26 January 2017. Jump up ^ `` Margaret Murray Washington ''. English.illinoisstate.edu. Retrieved 2014 - 02 - 27. Jump up ^ Deborah Gray White, Too Heavy a Load : Black Women in Defense of Themselves, 1894 - 1994, W.W. Norton & Co., 1999. Jump up ^ Taylor, Julius F. `` The Broad Ax ''. Illinois Digital Newspaper Collections. Retrieved 18 June 2015. Jump up ^ `` Roster of Officers '', NACWA. Jump up ^ Boehm, Randolph ( 1994 ). `` A Guide to the Microfilm Edition of Records of the National Association of Colored Women 's Clubs, 1895 -- 1992 '' ( PDF ). LexisNexis. Bethesda, Maryland : University Publications of America. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 23 October 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2017. External links NACWC website AfricanAmericans.com information `` The Mary McLeod Bethune Council House : African American Women Unite for Change '', National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places ( TwHP ) lesson plans Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry Women 's clubs in the United States Nationwide American Association of University Women Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching Daughters of the American Revolution General Federation of Women 's Clubs League of Women Voters National Association of Colored Women National Council of Jewish Women Women 's Christian Temperance Union Women 's Joint Congressional Committee Women 's Trade Union League Young Women 's Christian Association Alabama Alabama 's Colored Women 's Club Alaska General Federation of Women 's Clubs of Alaska California Berkeley City Club Beverly Hills Women 's Club Ebell of Los Angeles Francisca Club La Jolla Woman 's Club Los Angeles Nurses ' Club San Pedro Woman 's Club Wilfandel Georgia Atlanta Neighborhood Union Illinois Chicago Woman 's Club Three Arts Club of Chicago Indiana Indiana State Federation of Colored Women 's Clubs Vincennes Fortnightly Club Iowa Iowa Federation of Colored Women 's Clubs Kentucky Kentucky Federation of Women 's Clubs Massachusetts Chilton Club The College Club of Boston Colored Female Religious and Moral Society New England Woman 's Press Association New England Women 's Club Minnesota Saint Paul Women 's City Club Mississippi Mississippi State Federation of Colored Women 's Clubs Nevada 20th Century Club ( Reno, Nevada ) New York Brooklyn Women 's Club Colony Club Cosmopolitan Club ( New York ) Empire State Federation of Women 's Clubs Equal Suffrage League ( Brooklyn ) Sorosis Women 's City Club of New York North Carolina Charlotte Woman 's Club Pennsylvania Cosmopolitan Club of Philadelphia The Plastic Club South Carolina South Carolina Federation of Colored Women 's Clubs Tennessee The Nineteenth Century Club Ossoli Circle Texas Dallas Equal Suffrage Association Houston Heights Woman 's Club Lyceum Club ( Dallas ) Texas Association of Women 's Clubs Texas Equal Rights Association Texas Equal Suffrage Association Woman 's Club of El Paso Woman 's Club of San Antonio Virginia Mount Vernon Ladies ' Association Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Association_of_Colored_Women%27s_Clubs&oldid=799380128 '' Categories : African - American history African - American women 's organizations Dupont Circle National Association of Colored Women 's Clubs Organizations based in Washington, D.C. Women 's clubs in the United States Women in Washington, D.C. Women 's organizations based in the United States Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français Edit links This page was last edited on 7 September 2017, at 10 : 54. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who was elected the first president of the nacw
Answer: Mrs. Mary Church Terrell