Evening star., 1896-07-20
The National Federation of Women
Assemblies Today.
MANYFRATERNAL GREETING SPEECHES
Mrs. Sprague Tells of the Needs of
the Race.
SOME OF THE DELEGATES

The first annual convention Of the Ma
ttonal Federation Of Afro-American Wo-
men began this morning at the Nineteenth
Street Baptist Church, Rev. Walter H.
Brooks, pastor, and will continue for four
days.
The profuse decorations of bunting, flags,
ETC.. and the little cards placed on STATS
In various parts Of the edifice gave the
building unique and pleasing appearance
1t was originally intended that the con-
vention should begin business promptly at
am. but the Intervention of Sunday
caused an interruption in the preparations
, for the meeting of the body. and it was a
little after 10 o'clock before the president
of the National Federation. who is also
chairman Of the convention, Mrs. Booke,
L. Washington, called the delegates to or
der.
Devotional exercises were conducted by
| Mrs Jesse Lawson of Washington. DC
The Invocation was offered by Rev. DR..
Walter H. Brooks, pastor of the church in
which the convention is being held
In formally opening the convention Mrs.
Washington said the delegates had come
| here to work. and IT was expected that
much that would be of use to the race
would be inaugurated during the ensuing
! four days.
| Address of Welcome.
Rev. DIR. Brooks delivered pleasant al
dress Of welcome, saying that 1t in
| deed hal py indication, the dawning of
| brighter and better day. when the best
| women of the land unite in one mighty
company all their force Of character, tn.
| Intelligence and their active services to lift
| up and enEoble the womanhood and as a
| consequence, the manhood of the race. He
| trusted the Getting would be a grand and
blessed success and prayed that after its
adjournment its influence might srread to
| le
benediction to the race.
Mrs Rosetta Douglass Spra que Of Wash
| ington, u. C., only daughter of the late
| Frederick douglass, replied on the part of
| the National Federation
1t was inspiring, she said, to be assured
| OF the sympathy, cooperation and appre-
| cation of the good men Of the race, men
| ready to give words of cheer while they
| were travelling the rugged path of useful
| endeavor.
The colored women. she said, had been
| silent Observers while their fathers hus-
| bands and brothers had been endeavoring
| to extricate themselves from the meshes
| tnat slavery mad woven around them
me women nave, therefore. come to the
deter m!Eation that there is work for them
TO do-that while silently gazing on the
| progress CT the men, they have allowed
golden opportunities for their good to slip
| from them
I'VE are weary Of TIE false impressions
sent broadcast over the land of the colored
| woman's inferlority," said Mrs. Sprague
of her lack of virtue and other quantities
| OF noble womanhood. We wish TO make it
| clear to the minds of our fellow country
! men and women that there are no essential
elements OF character that they deem
| worthy Of cultivatlng that We do not re-
| sponu to and desire to emulate-that the
| sterling qualities Of purity, virtue benevo-
| ience and CHARITY are not any more DOR
inant In the breasts of the black woman
than the white woman.
Some Noble Colored Women.
1
come forth some of our most heroic women
whose words. acts and deeds are stimu-
lus to US at this hour. We have had such
| women by the score, women In whose
| hearts philanthropic impulses have burned
| with ardor. Whose love for mankind WAS
second only TO their love for God. Women
who have suffered death rather than be
| robbed of their virtue. Women who have
endured untold misery for the betterment
| OF the condition of their brothers and SIS
| ters.
While the white race have chronicled
! deeds of hero.Sm and acts of mercy of tn.
women OF pioneer and other days-so We
! are pleased to note in the personality of
| such women Phillis Wheatley, Marga-
ret Garner, Sojourner Truth and our vener-
| able friend Harriet Tubman, sterling quail
ties of head, heart and hand that hold no
insignificant place in the annals of heroic
| womanhood. These and many more that l
| could name whose strens tn of character is
! of the south.
Our wants are numerous We want
homes In which purity can be taught, not
| novels that are police court feeders; we
want industrial schools where labor of all
Kinds is taught, enabling our bows and
! girls to become skilled in the trades; We
want the dram shops closed; We want the
| pool rooms and gambling dens of every va
riety swept out OF existence; we want kim
dergartens largely establ shed; We want
reform schools for our girls In such cities
| where the conscience of the white Chr,e-
! tian Is not elastic enough to take in the
| negro child. These and many more are IN
wants we want gratified. Your words of
| welcome, your gracious greeting cheering
| US on in our endeavor is inspiration for
| US to work with a will and determina-
| ton worthy of our cause.
| our progress depends in the united
| strength of both men and women-the wo-
men alone nor the men alone can do the
work. We have fully realized that fact
| by witnessing the work of our men with
the women in the rear.
| This is indeed the wcmen's era, and we
are coming
Other Fraternal Greetings.
Fraternal greetings were extended on the
part Of the Zion A. NJ. E. Church by Mrs
| Victoria E. Matthews for the bishops; the
| American Missionary Association, by Mrs
| Ella Shepherd Moore of Nashville, Tenn. !;
1.-THE Womans Christian Temperance
| Union" by Mrs. Lucy Thurman of Jack
SON. Mich; The Sojourner Truth Home"
by Miss Matte r. Bowen OF Washington,
D. c.; 1T he Anti-Lynching Committee" of
Great Britain, Mrs. Ida Wells Barnett of
Chicago. Mrs. Barnett, who before her
! marriage was Miss Ida Wells, and who
Travelled throughout the greater part of the
United States and Europe lecturing in op-
position to lynchings in the SOUTH told of
the objects and purposes of the organiza-
tion whose greetings she brought to the
convention and said ii had on its rolls the
names of men and women of all grades of
society in England and they had been able
by agitation to create such sentiment in
this country that 1t was no trouble what
ever tc get inserted in the platform of the
st. Louis convention paragraph condemn
ing lynching.
The greetings of the National League of
Afro-American Women" were extended by
Mrs. Ida ID Bailey Of Washington. A tele-
gram Of congratulation was read from Mrs.
NJ. F. Pitts Of the st. Louis Orphan Asy-
lum, and letter from Mrs. Edna b. Che
ney, president Of the Woman's Hospital
Association of Boston; T. Thomas Fortune
and the venerable Rev. DR.. Crummell of
Washington.
Mrs. J. W. Cromwell spoke very briefly
concerning the work of the Colored Y NJ
G.. A. of Washington and Miss NJ l.