Submitted by: Barbara A. Seals Nevergold, PhD, Co-founder of the Uncrowned Queens Institute
In 1895 James Jacks, President of the Missouri Press Association wrote a widely publicized letter that labeled Blacks as “… wholly devoid of morality”. He specifically proclaimed that Black “…. women were prostitutes and all were natural thieves and liars.” Jacks’ letter ignited and energized the Black women’s club movement, which launched a campaign to refute his portrayal of Black women.
The same year that Jacks’ published his letter, Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, a writer and suffragette, called together a group of Black women who formed the National Federation of Afro-American Women, a direct response to Jacks’ assertions about Black women. Ruffin believed that the best way to respond to racist and sexist attacks was through social-political activism. She argued that developing positive images of African-American womanhood was important to countering racist attacks: “Too long have we been silent under unjust and unholy charges; we cannot expect to have them removed until we disprove them through ourselves.”
In 1896, the merger of the National Federation of Afro-American Women and the National League of Colored Women of Washington, DC, resulted in the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, which incorporated among its objectives , “to furnish evidence of the moral, mental and material progress made by people of color through the efforts of our women” into its national program. While the founders of the NACW understood the power of advocacy, they also promoted self-help and volunteerism. The organization’s motto, “Lifting as we Climb” expressed their dedication to reaching back to and assisting those, who were less fortunate and less able. Within 20 years, the NACW had sister affiliates across this nation with an extraordinary membership of 300,000.
The Phyllis Wheatley Club of Colored Women, Buffalo’s first NACW affiliate was founded in 1899. The PWC began a long tradition of establishing and supporting self-help and advocacy programs in this community that spanned nearly 100 years. Mrs. John Dover, Mrs. Susan Evans and Mrs. Mary Burnett Talbert were among its founding members. Talbert, one of the most prominent Black women of her era, became the 6th president of the NACW in 1916. At that time, she told members of the organization that “no Negro woman can afford to be an indifferent spectator of the social, moral, religious, economic, and uplift problems that are agitated around [her].” Long before becoming the NACW president, Talbert demonstrated the practical application of this philosophy.
At the time when Buffalo’s Black community comprised only 1698 inhabitants, within a year of its founding, the Phyllis Wheatley Club’s membership exceeded 150 clubwomen. The group made plans for a settlement house, which opened in 1905. They developed programs to feed the hungry, donated books by Black authors to school libraries, established kindergartens for black children and organized “mother’s clubs” to teach parenting skills. The campaign to project an image of Black women and black people generally that refuted the charges made by James Jacks was an inherent component of all of their programs.
In November 1900, the Club signaled its intent to confront actions, even at the highest level, that excluded Blacks from participation in the Pan American Exposition. They staged a protest rally, which attracted over 200 participants. They also demonstrated an astute understanding of the power of collaboration by inviting the head of the local temperance movement, a white women’s group to speak in support of their cause. It was a bold move on their part, but these women understood the economic and socio-political importance of world’s fairs and wanted their community to share in the anticipated prosperity that 8 million fair visitors would generate.
They also saw an opportunity to inform and educate white American fairgoers about the progress made by African Americans since Emancipation – through the imagery of the Negro Exhibit. This exhibit, curated by W.E.B. DuBois, featured displays, charts, and photos depicting the advancements made by Blacks in the arts, education, business, medicine, science and much more. It had won an astounding 17 awards in Paris. And most importantly, it presented a stark contrast to the images of Blacks portrayed on the Pan Am’s Midway by the only two official exhibits planned for the Expo: the Old Plantation and Darkest Africa were living exhibits; the former included an actual plantation with cotton crops and slave shanties as well as a theater where minstrel shows took place; Darkest Africa also featured “natives”, dressed in scanty clothing, living in huts and performing “authentic” savage rituals.
The “protest” rally was designed to press the Pan Am’s Board of Managers to include the Negro Exhibit as the third exhibit at the Pan Am. The women also protested the failure of the Board of Managers to appoint a representative of the race to that body. The group advocated for a woman: Mary B. Talbert, cited as the “most accomplished Black woman” in the community. Black women used this rally to promote positive images of Blacks as offered by a contemporary exhibit and a widely respected Black woman.
The Phyllis Wheatley Club remained one of Buffalo’s most influential Black women’s organizations for nearly 100 years, providing the structure and mechanisms that promoted local community building and helped to shape many of the women documented as Uncrowned Queens. Long before the feminist movement, these women knew the strength resulting from the collective power of women united in singleness of purpose; long before women joined with their men to advocate for economic, political and social equality for all.
The Phyllis Wheatley Club’s record and legacy is that it members translated, into reality, the essence and meaning of their motto, “Lifting as we climb”.
The Friends of the Buffalo Story is involved in a yearlong project whose mission is to uncover and reveal the heritage-based stories of people who live along the Ferry Street Corridor. As part of this effort “The Friends” is working very closely with community-groups, who have been doing this work for many years. None has done this more effectively and diligently than the uncrowned queens institute for research & education on women, inc.
We are proud to be collaborating with them to bring you this ongoing feature during the month of February, which focuses on some of the “uncrowned community builders” who have done so much to strengthen the African-American community of Buffalo’s East Side as well as the region.
For more on African American Community Builders visit our website at: www.uncrownedcommunitybuilders.com
Additional “uncrowned community builders” are as follows:
rev. j. edward nash – a legendary buffalo pastor
eva noles – nurse, historian, pioneer
mary lee crosby chappelle – sage of the ages
john edmonston brent – master builder
hester c. jeffrey – advocate of women’s suffrage movement
thelma ayers hardiman – stalwart supporter of buffalo
willie brown seals – minister, musician, photographer
james a. ross – newspaperman, exposition promoter, businessman
amelia grace anderson: teacher and club woman
james henry stansil: rescued work of elizabeth keckley
cora p. maloney: buffalo’s 1st african american female common council member
marshall miles – buffalo’s connection to boxing royalty
claude d. clappe: a pioneering educator
ann montgomery: matron of the little harlem
Jessica (Judy) Johnson: A Political Trailblazer