Mary Church Terrell

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Essential Questions

• How did African Americans advocate for their rights before the modern civil rights movement?
• What role did African-American women play in advancing social and civil equality?
• What was the historical significance of the black women’s club movement?
• How did black women in the club movement deal with class differences among African Americans?

Objectives

Activities will help students:

• Understand that black Americans and their allies fought for civil rights decades before the emergence of the modern civil rights movement
• Recognize the role of Mary Church Terrell and the NACW in working for civil rights in the decades before the modern civil rights movement
• Analyze the intersection of race, class and gender in the black women’s club movement

Materials Needed

The Progress of Colored Women, by Mary Church Terrell and the Close Reading Sheet

Central Text

The Progress of Colored Women, by Mary Church Terrell

Procedure

Word Work

Tools for Understanding Unfamiliar Words

Sometimes you will read something that has a lot of words you haven’t seen before. But those unfamiliar words don’t need to cause you problems. Sometimes you will have to look up a definition, but there are other strategies you can use to figure out what a word means. Take the following sentence, for example:

But, from the day their fetters were broken and their minds released from the darkness of ignorance…colored women have forged steadily ahead in the acquisition of knowledge and in the cultivation of those virtues which make for good. …

Context Clues

Read the first part of the sentence. Do you know the word fetters? If so, read the sentence again, substituting a word that means the same thing as fetters. If not, consider the sentence as a whole. The sentence says that black women’s minds were released from darkness. Fetters were broken to release their minds. In the context of the sentence, then, what do you think fetters means? Fetters are something that kept black women locked in ignorance. They are something that got in the way of black women’s learning. You can figure out that fetters are things that restrain or limit people.

Familiar Roots

Now read the second part of the sentence. Do you know the word acquisition? If so, read the sentence again, substituting a word that means the same thing as acquisition. If not, look at the word to see if you recognize part of it. Acquisition is related to the word acquire, which means to get. Now you can figure out what acquisition means: getting.

As you read the central text, you will come across some unfamiliar words. Some of them are highlighted in yellow. Working with a partner, use the skills described in this section to help you figure out what the words mean.

Close and Critical Reading

1. Pre-Reading

Start by asking a few basic questions so that you have a good idea of what you’ll be reading.

• What is the title of the text?
• Who wrote it?
• In what form did the text originally appear? (e.g., in a magazine or on the radio)
• To whom was the text directed?

2. Reading

One way to read a text like this is one paragraph at a time, making sure you understand each paragraph before you move on to the next one. This selection has 14 paragraphs, which have been numbered to help you use this reading strategy. Read the first paragraph. Using the Close Reading Sheet, write a sentence that states the most important point in the paragraph or that summarizes its main idea.

3. Post-Reading

When you’re done, read what you’ve written on the Close Reading Sheet. Circle what you think are the most important points in the piece. Write a sentence or two to sum up what the text says. 

Community Inquiry

Complete these activities with a partner or in a group of three or four.

1. Find the places in the text where Terrell sets the historical context. Using the information you find there, answer these questions with your group:

• When was the text written?
• What significant past events does Terrell refer to?
• How have these events affected black Americans in general?
• How have they affected black women in particular?

2. Find the places in the text where Terrell explains the important roles women play in homes. Answer these questions:

• What roles do women fill in the home?
• Why does Terrell see these roles as important and powerful?
• Do you agree with her? Why or why not?

3. Find the places in the text where Terrell speaks about class differences among black Americans.

• From what class do you think Terrell comes? What makes you think so?
• What attitude does she have toward blacks of a different class?

4. Now think about the contributions of the National Association of Colored Women. Using the information in the text, answer these questions:

• In what ways did black club women help African-American communities?
• Which contributions improved the quality of life for black Americans?
• Which contributed to economic equality?
• Which contributed to legal justice?

Write to the Source

Write a letter to Mary Church Terrell, speaking to her from your perspective living more than 100 years after she gave this speech. In your letter, explain what you like about what she says and why it still makes sense to you all these years after it was written. Also explain what doesn’t make as much sense to you. Explain to her what has changed that makes her speech less relevant now than it was then.

Do something

In her speech, Mary Church Terrell spoke about how black women who had greater advantages had helped those who had fewer advantages. As a class, look around your community for examples of people who help others less fortunate than they are. Decide on an action you can take to help people in your community who are in need, such as volunteering at a soup kitchen or working toward policy change. Then carry out that action.

Extension Activities

Find out more about the National Association of Colored Women. You might start by reading about the organization on its website. (It is now called the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs.) Working with a group, identify one of the organization’s significant projects or actions. Report to the class your findings. After all the groups have reported, discuss the importance and impact of the NACW since its founding. 

Additional Resources

National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs

National Association of Colored Women Project

Standards (College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards):

Reading

1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

2. Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize the key supporting details and ideas.

5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.

6. Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text.

10. Read and comprehend complex literary and informational texts independently and proficiently.

Writing

1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence.

2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.

4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

Speaking and Listening

1. Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

4. Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

Language

1. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

2. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.

3. Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.

4. Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple meaning words and phrases by using context clues, analyzing meaningful word parts, and consulting general and specialized reference materials, as appropriate.

5. Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.