Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1895-08-16
IA BRAND NEW SPHERE
THE RECENT CONFERENCE OF AFRO
AMERICAN WOMEN.
Subjects Discussed by Up to Date Negro
Women at Boston-some Highly Inter
! esting and Timely Papers Read-They
! Arc Eager to Vote.

est,ng and Timely Papers Rosd-They
Are Eager To Vote.
Boston has had few conventions that
transcond In pioturesquoness aud interest
Tho conference OF Afro-A morican women,
which has just closed "A three days session
I'm the beautiful Berkeley hall. IL was
something brand now. IL was tho first of
its kind ever held I'm Boston OF anywhere
else In the country. IL represented n now
force. IL linked Boston of tho time when
George Thompson was chased all over tho
city and William Lloyd Garrison was rot
ten eggcd for pleading tho cause of tho
slave with Boston Of the time when no
slave exists In all the land, and when tho
schools have transformed the slave woman
Of tho plantation into tho educated and
cultivated woman OF the home and school
room of today. Boston was becomingly
interested In the fact.
There were 30 delegates I'm the confer
ence. They represented majority OF the
states In the Union. Some Of them are
women who have made much reputation
as educators and missionary workers
among their people, women who have rec
ognized tho need Of hard work and much
self sacrifice to benefit the great mass liv-
ing In outer darkness.
The programme will show tho lines along
which tho now Afro-American woman is
thinking:
Opening Session. July 29.-Orssnization, at
which the following officers we<e elected:
President, Mrs. Josephine st. Pierre Ruffin.
Boston: vice president, Mrs. Helen Cook Sec
gnd vice president, Mrs. Booker 7. Washing
ton. Tuskegee, Ala. secretaries, Mrs Hannah
Smith, Boston; Miss l.. Z. Carter New York.
Reports from clubs. Evening session-Poem.
by Miss Alice T. Miller; address, by Mrs.
tion," Mrs A. J. Cooper; "Women and the
Higher Education" Ella l.. Smith, A. NJ.
Tuesday, July 80.-Business address, "Indi-
vidual Work For Moral Elevation. Mrs Book
er T. Washington; "Industrial Training"
Miss l.. G.. Carter. Evening session-"Rac
Literature. Mrs Victoria Matthews; "Polit
zeal Equality" #. Thomas Fortune, William
Lloyd Garrison and Henry b. Blackwell.
Wednesday, July 8l.-"Social Purity" Mrs.
Alice s. Felts: Temperance" Mrs A. q.
Brown; cart" Mrs. Ella d. Spencer; "wom-
On In Church Work." Miss Dora J. Cole;
"What We Need For More Equable Develop
ment," Mrs Florida II. Ridley.
The most heated discussion of the ses-
sion was over letter sent to Miss Flor
encc Balgarine Of tho British Antilynch-
ing society by John w. Jacks, president of
the Missouri Press association, In which
he declared that Afro-American women
were without honor or moral purity.
These women closed the doors to the pub
lie and hayed Mr.. Jacks alive. II they
could have got after him In Boston, they
would have given him 0oot Of tar and
feathers It Is worth while to travel long
way to see 90 women as indignant as those
were over the Jacks slonder. Indeed this
mans slander was 80 sweeping as 10 de-
stroy any force IL might otherwise have
had Like . great many other small men,
Jacks wrote his diatfibe for the sole pur-
pose OF getting some questionable notorie-
ty out Of It. His scheme should have been
thHarted. Instead of that these women In
conference simply made themselves blue In
the face discussing him and giving the
press associations ohance to fash him
and his name all over the country.
The paper of Mrs. Booker Il. Washing
ton on the situation Of the race In the
black belt Of Alabama was particularly
timely and thorough She Is veteran
teacher and now the wifo Of the distin-
guished principal Of the Tuskegee institute
and understands thoroughly the conditions
she discussed. She wants her people out
side Of the black belts to take more inter-
6st In the work Of elevating the girls and
women In them. They should sustain by
moral and material force the mon and the
women who left pleasant homes In moro
favored sections and are devoting their
lives to this work In the black belts. Her
paper made profound impression. She
has a strong mind and strong voice, and
tho large audience saw that she knew what
she was talking about The paper by
Mrs. Victoria Matthews on "The Afro
American In Literature was an exhaust
I've one, showing very wide range Of
reading. She gave Mark Twain, Ignatius
Donnelly and William Dean Howells
good drubbing for the despicablo charac-
ters Of her race they have drawn In their
works. Singularly enough, In praising
others she had not word to say In eulogy
of Rider HaRgard, who, in dealing almost
entirely with African characters, has
drawn but a single ugly one In the whole
batch, and he was born an idiot.
! The discussion Of the social purity and
temperance questions showed how deeply
and earnestly Afro american women think
on these lines. No doubt thero will be
concerted movement on their part TO i'm
prove the home life and morals OF the black
women In towns and cities who have here
toforo been left to their own evil tendencies
or the influences ruling In their environ
ment. Surely these women whose discus
sion showed splendid grasp of and sym
pathy with the subject, can devote them
selves to no more necessary and noble work.
II tho women In this conference had a vote
on Ii, they would abolish the saloons in
short order.
A great deal Of temper was provoked In
the discussion Of resolution to indorse
the Woman's Christian Temperance union.
A large part of the delegates thought that
Miss Frances X. willard had been hodging
on tho question of lynch law, especially
when she was In Great Britain, and they
felt like scoring her, and they did IL and
then passed tho resolution In truo woman
fashion.
The appearance Of william Lloyd Garri-
son In discussion of tho subject Of "Polit-