The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1895-03-07
NEGRO WOMEN.
The Members are Ambitious and
Untiring Workers.
WELL ORGANIZED In NEW ORLEANS
An Afro-American Club That Is Devoted
to the Cause Of Elevating the
Negro Race.


is inaugurating a work in New Or
leans that promises to be far-reaching.
A knowledge of its existence and plan of
work is of general interest, as it is
probably the beginning of the idea of
concentration among thinking women
of the Afro. American race, for this club
is composed entirely of colored women.
1t is of recent origin, and has already
on roll forty-five names, representing
the best of the colored educational and
social world. These women are we'll
educated, many of them having univer-
sity training. and all of them in touch
with the progressive movements of the
day.
The club has been very fifty named
after Phillis Wheatley, the Massachu-
sets slave girl, whose mental gifts,
even in those far-off days, gained for
her recognition, notwithstanding her
race, and has given her a right to be
named among Americas early poets.
The founder and president of the
Phillis Wheatley club. Mrs. F. S.
Williams, is remarkable woman and
representative of the best element of
her race. Personally she is very at
tractive, of the quadroon type, tall,
handsome, and possessing the easy
manners and grace of the woman of
the world. She has acquired unusual
mental attainments, and is highly es-
teemed in the community where she
lives as an educator Of her own race,
being principal of an important public
school and president of the Colored
Educational, Progressive and Benevo-
lent League, an association which,
while it aims to keep before the colored
teachers higher educational standard,
looks also after the material needs of
it's members.
Mrs. Williams home is something of
literary center; her husband, also
principal of public school, is man
full of intellectual aspirations, their
lately deceased son having been direct
or of the Emerson Coterie, a literary
club composed of both sexes which met
weekly to study and read original pa
pers on authors, books, the drama and
music.
1t was to this clever woman that
Louisiana was indebted for the care
fully and ably compiled records of the
educational and literary work of the
colored people of that State which was
contributed to the statistics of the
Worlds Fair.
Mrs. Williams is native of New
Orleans, where she received her edu.
cation as we'll as her normal training,
and she will tell you with pride of her
Southern advantages, and that until
within late years she had never even
travelled out of the South.
Besides her educational and literary
requirements, this very clever woman
is further gifted with considerable ex-
ecutive ability, and has planned the
work OF this new organization, over
which she presides, very much after
the methods of other women's clubs,
at the same time keeping in view the
needs OF her own race. For instance,
with the usual Officers. there are
twelve standing committees whose
work comes under the following heads:
Philanthropy, temperance, hospitals,
literature, history and law, suffrage,
social purity, self-help for the deserv-
ing poor, health versus filth, anti
cigarette and anti-pugilistic, free night
school and newspapers and current
topics.
These committees not only make
study OF the special work assigned, pre-
senting papers and leading in discus
sions at the regular meetings, but in
connection with their subject under
take mission work, going among the
poor and uneducated blacks, giving
them practical help and teaching them
better methods of living; thus the COM
mittee on self-help for the deserving
poor teaches sewing, darning, and, fol-
lowing the plan of the American
Needlework guild, donates a certain
number of garments yearly for the
poor. The health versus filth COM
mittee spreads the value of hygienic
laws. The nti.cigarette and anti.
pugllistic committee exerts its influence
among boys. The free night-school
committee proposes to establish free
night schools to teach merely reading,
writing and ciphering to boys and
girls out at service, the members of the
club who are professional teachers
volunteering to take charge of the
classes. The newspaper and current
topics committee reads papers end
magazines of the day, carefully select
ing any topics upon the colored race,
either commendatory or derogatory,
presenting same to the club for discus
sion leading up to condemnation OF an.
proval; this keeps before them the
thoughts of the world, bad, good and
indifferent, concerning their own race.
All the various committees distribute
literature in connection with their
ork. The literature, history and
law committees are doing regular
class work. the former having for their
subject Contemporary American Lit.
erature" and the latter 1.-THE History
and Laws of Louisiana.
The committee meetings are held at
the homes of members, the regular
business meetings taking place in the
basement Of one of the leading colored
churches. Thus there are few OK.
penses, which are met by the small
IL