African American Clubwomen

With the end of slavery, newly freed African Americans established brand-new identities for themselves. From behaviors that were considered respectable for the time, to rejecting all social norms, each black person sought to define him or herself in a way of his or her choosing. Black women, in particular, took on a range of identifications. How each woman choose to define herself, and the reasons behind her definition varied. Black Women who belonged to clubs, such as the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, presented themselves in a way that would reflect African Americans at their best. Clubwomen defined themselves as respectable Black women who were best fitted to be ambassadors for Black people and presented this identity to …show more content…
Thus, these women perceived identity politics as a way to achieve their goals. Identity politics are “political activity or movements based on or catering to the cultural, ethnic, gender, racial, religious or social interest that characterize a group identity” (“identity politics”). By seeking to improve the conditions of African Americans by presenting a specific idea of Black womanhood, clubwomen were performing this act. However, their type of identity politics leads to problems. One issue is that “it frequently conflates or ignores intra group differences” (Crenshaw). In defining clubwomen as a whole, these women ignored the fact that each woman did not have similar personal priorities or beliefs. As a result identity politics forced clubwomen to conceal parts of their …show more content…
These women’s private lives often differed from the persona they gave in public, but they could not reveal this. Margaret Murray Washington, the third wife of Booker T. Washington, had a dislike of children (White 89-90). Yet, she raised her husband’s children from previous marriages and even “[organized] the Tuskegee mother’s club and the E.A. Russell Settlement” (White 89). However, Washington was not the only one who experienced conflicts such as these. Mary Church Terrell traveled across the country lecturing on the “the important role women played in the home,” while she worried over the amount of time she spent away from her home and children (White 90). Exemplifying motherhood and domesticity were key pieces to the way these women defined themselves, yet many did not personally hold these values in high regards. In addition, there some who could not properly fulfill the role of mother and homemaker. However, their positions as clubwomen dictated that they adopt this role, regardless of their situation. These women had set a specific definition for themselves and sought to strictly adhere to it. If any clubwoman, failed to do so, they feared that “they would not pass their own very rigid test of perfect black womanhood” (White 109). By failing to meet their own standards, the clubwomen would not be living up to the reputation that they created for themselves. Furthermore, they