Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-04-15
women's Clubs and coIored Women


Editor Courier:-For the past two
years l have watched with considera-
Die interest the movements of the
women's clubs throughout the coun-
Try, because l thought / could see in
them source Of help that would be
boon to women generally. thought
the object OF these organizations was
10 encourage and lift up humanity
generally, and thus make their organ
lzation blessing to the world. l.
may be mistaken, but from what i
nave heard and read 1 had come to
that conclusion. l thought the object
was to attain higher aspiration than
simply pleasure, and going out on
dress parade, and hope that am not
mistaken. But l notice that in almost
every hamlet, and especially in the
federation Of clubs, that the negro
women seem to be the bone of CON
tention, notwithstanding they are
among the lowly. There is no race of
women who have been preyed upon as
mas the negro women of America.
People form humane societies for the
protection of birds and animals, but
there are no such organizations for
the protection of black womanhood.
There are localities in this country
where the colored women have no
protection whatever. Unprincipled
white men can insult them with i'm
punlty and they have no redress. not
even before the courts, if white is ar
rayed on one side and black on the
other. Thus many girls are ruined
because unprincipled white men know
that they will not be punished be-
cause they are white. Knowing these
facts, l looked and hoped for encour
agement from these clubs. But MANY
OF them seem to have an antinatby
against these women worse than the
Jews had against Absalom; and as the
jews showed their hatred to him nv
hauling stone to his sepulcher 81
many OF the women of these cl,hs
show their hatred of the colored wom-
en- by hurting epithets at them and in
various ways stigmatizing them
winch is a stone to crush rather than
hand to lift up. Christ was found
among the outcast, the degraded. the
wicked, saying in answer to the nues-
tons: why eateth your Master with
publicans and sinners; they that he
whole need not a physician, but thew
that are sick"
BY following this divine example we
may derive the highest benefit to our
selves while We are seeking to allie
vlate the woes of others. The spirit
or Christianity is no anchored shirt
1t goes out among men because evil is
among men and seeks like it's blessed
founder to save that which was lost.
Ii the white women of the country have
reached the zenith and they find any
moral good in their organizations LET
them reach down and give a helping
hand to the poor, despised negro wom
len-desplsed for no other cause than
that God saw fit to make them Of a
darker hue.
A less determined people would have
gone down under the debris that mas
been heaped upon them, but God seems
to encourage them to struggle on. Gen
orally speaking every mans hand is
against the negro. Shall it go down in
history that every woman's hand is
against them also? Shall it be written
over the portals of every organization,
organized for the purpose of lifting up
womenkind, no African need to apply9
No party can reform itself Some one
or more must Ne right themselves, then
with proper encouragement they press
forward, then others will see the touch
Of purity and by it's influence will fall
into line and form strong body for
good.
In the grand old state of Iowa there
are come as grand and as courageous
white women as ever set foot on Gods
green earth who will never stoop to
lick the feet of any set of women from
a certain section of this country, nor
trickle to their whims when they are