Accession No. RARE.2025.0174: Purchased, 2021 January
[identification of item], National Association of Colored Women Souvenir Program, SPEC.RARE.MMS.0421, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
Materials in this collection are available for use, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only.
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyright, and are made available for research and educational purposes. In general, the OSU Libraries do not own the copyright for materials from our collections and cannot grant copyright permissions for these materials. The user is responsible for making a final determination of copyright status. If copyright protection applies, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exceptions to the law. Works in the public domain are not protected by copyright and do not require permission to use.
Processed by: Allison McPherson, 2025 November; Finding aid written by: Allison McPherson, 2025 November
As of 2025, the National Association of Colored Women, also known as the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, is an organization with a focus on social justice, education, health, and economic empowerment through collective action in African American communities. This American organization was founded in Washington, D.C in 1896 by Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, Harriet Tubman, Margaret Murray Washington, Frances E.W. Harper, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and Mary Church Terrell. The organization was founded to work on issues of civil rights and injustice including women’s suffrage, anti-lynching, and Jim Crow laws.
In 1912 the organization endorsed the suffrage movement and actively supported African American women in other ways such as creating a national scholarship fund for college bound African American women. The 1924 biennial conference focused on topics that impacted African American communities including education, music, neighborhood welfare, health, hygiene, and included presentations from individuals such as Mrs. Booker T. Washington on inter-racial cooperation. The 1924 conference was held at Wendell Phillips High School in Chicago, Illinois which had become Chicago's first predominantly African American high school in 1920.
The National Association of Colored Women Souvenir Program collection contains a single program from the 14th biennial session National Association of Colored Women conference that took place in 1924 from August 3-8 in Chicago, Illinois. The program is in the original purple cover with stamped silver lettering. Included in the program are the names and positions of officers and committee members, a schedule of events for the week of the conference, and advertisements for local businesses or clubs.