Black Life in the Urban North
Fannie Barrier Williams Lauds Chicago Women
“Fannie Barrier Williams Lauds Chicago Women,” Chicago Defender, October 10, 1914.
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Summary |
| FANNIE BARRIER WILLIAMS LAUDS CHICAGO WOMEN | FANNIE BARRIER WILLIAMS LAUDS CHICAGO WOMEN |
| Noted Writer Says on the Streets, In Public Assemblies and In Every Day Life They Seem Prosperous and Sufficient.
HOME LIFE IMPROVED. What is the status and general improvement of the Colored women of Chicago? Anything like statistics is out of the question. Whatever the general improvement of the condition of women in the city, it is shared alike by all women who are susceptible to progress. To see Colored women on the streets, in public assemblies and in the everyday walks of life they seem altogether prosperous and sufficient. |
Famous writer says Black women in Chicago seem to be doing well.
How are Black women doing in Chicago? We do not have statistics to tell us. We can see for ourselves by observing them in public that Black women are doing well. |
| If they feel that sting of race prejudice they seem to be confident of their own worth and hopeful for better conditions. One important evidence of progress is the enlargement and improvement of the home life of the Negro people. | If Black women in Chicago experience racism, they do not allow it to affect them. You can find evidence in the way home life is improving for Black people in Chicago. |
| Ten or fifteen years ago they lived in districts of the city bordering on what may be called the “slums.” Vices of all kinds menaced the morals and health conditions of their families. But it is now easy to discern a great improvement in this respect. Better economic conditions have enabled them to purchase and occupy residences on some of the finest avenues and boulevards of the city. | Ten or fifteen years ago they lived in slums. Families were threatened by all manner of vices. But now it’s easy to see a big improvement. Better economic opportunities have made it possible for Black people to buy homes in some of the finest neighborhoods in the city. |
| Fifty School Teachers It scarcely need be stated that in reference to employment in the trades, shops and stores Colored women are the least favored of any class of women in the city, yet it is impossible for them to be idle and respected. |
Black women face terrible discrimination in the workforce, but they need to have jobs to be respected. |
| While only a few colored women are fortunate enough to gain positions in what are considered the higher callings, they are nevertheless industrious and increasingly willing to do whatever their hands find in order to earn a respectable living. | While only a few Black women are able to overcome racism to join highly respected professions, all Black women are willing to work hard to earn a respectable living. |
| About fifty Colored women have won positions as teachers in our mixed public schools. There is also a surprising number of young women holding good positions as clerks and stenographers. One young woman through civil service examination secured an important position with the board of education in Chicago and is now private secretary to the assistant superintendent of schools. | Fifty Black women have been hired to teach in desegregated public schools. There are also Black women working as clerks and typists. One has become the private secretary to the assistant superintendent of schools. |
| Young Colored women may also be found acting as assistants in dental offices, as court stenographers, as demonstrators of special goods in large department stores, as meat inspectors in stockyards, a few in canning and hair factories, a few as clerks, and scores of them earn a comfortable living as manicurists, chiropodists and hair culturists in private families. | Young Black women have found work as assistants in dentist offices, courts, department stores, factories, and salons. |
| Many in Business. In addition to these there are a number of Colored women who have their own millinery establishments, beauty shops and dressmaking and costuming parlors that are elegantly appointed and up to date in every detail. |
Many Black women own their own successful businesses. |
| There is also an increasing number of professional nurses, several of them holding positions as nurses in the public schools and members of the Visiting Nurses’ Association. | The number of Black women working as nurses is increasing. |
| There are several Colored women connected with the juvenile court, acting as probation officers, and one adult probation officer. There are half a dozen Colored women physicians, three dentists and one practicing attorney. | Several Black women work in the juvenile court system. There are six Black woman doctors, three dentists, and one lawyer. |
| Eight or ten young Colored women are employed in the public library. There is a large number of music teachers, both vocal and instrumental. As a further evidence of progress young Colored women are eagerly crowding the night schools of the city in order to equip themselves for business positions. | Eight to ten young Black women work in the public library. There are many who teach music lessons. Another sign of progress is how many young Black women are taking night classes to find better jobs. |
| Praise for Plain Women. A class of women that cannot be ignored in this story of the life of the Colored women of Chicago is the women who work with their hands in the humbler walks of life, as cooks, housecleaners, laundresses, caretakers and domestics. One of the most interesting sights in our public streets in the early morning hours is the large army of Colored women going in all directions to their day’s work. |
But we cannot ignore the Black women who work as cooks, housecleaners, laundresses, and maids. One of the most interesting sights in our city is the large army of Black women walking in all directions to get to work. |
| These women deserve great credit for their eager willingness to aid their husbands in helping to provide a living for themselves and their families. | Domestic workers deserve our praise for being willing to help their husbands support their families. |
| Another phase of the life of these Colored women is their passion for organization. There are clubs for the study of civics, social clubs to promote refinement of life, clubs for the care and protection of dependent children, religious organizations in the interest of churches, and a number of social settlements and secret societies. | Another aspect of life for the Black women of Chicago is their interest in clubs. There are civics clubs, social clubs, childcare clubs, religious clubs, and many community improvement organizations and secret societies. |
| The most important understanding among Colored women is the establishment of the Phyllis Wheatley Home. It was organized and incorporated some years ago for the purpose of giving shelter and protection to the young Colored women who wander into Chicago unacquainted with the snares and pitfalls of a great city. The home is a comfortable brick building, simply furnished, and offers a home for young women until they have secured employment and one to which they can appeal and find a welcome at any time. Mrs. L. A. Davis is the founder and promoter of this enterprise and is president of a progressive club of Colored women who look after and support this noble work. | The most important organization founded by Black women in Chicago is the Phyllis Wheatley Home. It provides shelter and support to young Black women who move to the city without family or friends to support them. It is located in a comfortable home where the women can live until they find a job and return any time they need support. |
| The Right to Vote. A new and important responsibility has come to Chicago women in the franchise. It is believed that this power granted to the women of the state of Illinois is going to lift Colored women to new importance as citizens. They appreciate what it means and are eagerly preparing themselves to do their whole duty. |
Illinois has recently granted all women the new and important responsibility of voting in elections. It is believed that this new right will raise the importance of Black women as citizens. The Black women of Chicago are eagerly preparing to do their duty. |
| They believe that they now have an effective weapon within which to combat prejudice and discrimination of all kinds. There need be no anxiety as to the conduct of these newly made Colored citizens. They have had a large and varied experience in organizations, and we expect to see in them an exhibition of the best there is in the Colored race. This splendid extension of the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments will make many things possible and open many avenues of progress that have heretofore been closed to Colored women. It is the hope of the leaders of the race that these new citizens will cultivate whatever is best in heart and mind that will enable them to meet the common tasks of life as well as the higher responsibility with confidence and hope. | They believe that they now have an effective way to combat prejudice and discrimination. No one needs to worry about Black women rising to the occasion. They have years of experience in community organizing, and we expect that they will demonstrate all the best qualities of Black Americans. This extension of voting rights will make many things possible and open doors that have previously been closed to Black women. Black leaders hope that these new citizens will nurture their hearts and minds to meet their daily tasks and the responsibility of voting with confidence and hope. |
“Fannie Barrier Williams Lauds Chicago Women,” Chicago Defender, October 10, 1914.
Background
In the early 1900s Black Americans in the South found life increasingly dangerous. Segregation limited access to jobs, education, housing, and voting rights. Racist violence terrorized Black communities. Despite public protests and individual campaigns, the horrific practice of lynching and widespread discrimination continued.
In response to these pressures, half a million Southern Black Americans moved to Northern states between 1910 and 1920. Today this mass movement is called the Great Migration. Many Black women and girls took part in the Great Migration, upending their lives for the chance at a more secure future.
Northern states offered more opportunities for Black Americans, but prejudice was still rampant. Some neighborhoods excluded Black residents. Schools in Black communities received few resources. Black workers were paid lower wages than their white counterparts. But women activists like Fannie Barrier Williams, Adella Hunt Logan, and Mary Church Terrell helped Northern Black communities establish organizations and social services that sought to improve life for all Black Americans.
About the Resources
This article appeared in the Chicago Defender in 1914. The Chicago Defender was a Black-owned newspaper that covered national news relating to Black life in America. The author, Fannie Barrier Williams, was a speaker, writer, and activist in Chicago, Illinois who was dedicated to helping Black women move out of the South.
Vocabulary
- lynching: The extralegal execution of a person by a mob.
- segregation: Separating people by race, class, gender, or ethnic group.
- vice: A moral failure or weakness.
Discussion Questions
- Who is the intended audience for this article? What message is the author sharing?
- According to this article, what kind of work is available to Black women in Chicago? What challenges do Black women face?
- According to this article, why is the right to vote particularly important for Black women?
- What do you make of calling voting a duty? How is this different from a right? How might Black women have seen voting? Why? What does this have to do with the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments?
- How does this article make you feel about the lives of Black women in the urban North? Do you think this is a fair assessment? Why or why not?
Suggested Activities
- APUSH Connection: 7.6: Word War I: Home Front
- Explore the ideas and actions of Black suffragists by reading Fannie Barrier Williams’s article in tandem with Adella Hunt Logan’s article in The Crisis, Mary Church Terrell‘s life story, and Ida B. Wells’s life story.
- Compare the different types of waged work women took on in this era by combining this article with Lewis Hine’s photographs of industrial workers and the articles describing the El Paso laundry strike. Consider how race and geography had an influence on the types of work women did.
- Compare this resource with Black Domestic Workers to discuss the labor opportunities available to Black women in this era.
- Use this article in conjunction with this advertisement for electric household appliances to broaden your consideration of the experience of paid domestic workers in this era.
- Explore some of the reasons Black men and women migrated to the North by analyzing this article in combination with the photograph of Southern anti-suffragists, the NAACP testimony about Black women voting, the life story of Ida B. Wells, and additional materials in the Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow curriculum guide.
- Consider the many ways Black women fought to legitimize their citizenship and fight discrimination by studying this source alongside Adella Hunt Logan’s case for women’s suffrage in The Crisis; the account of two Black social workers on the French front; the photograph of the 1917 silent march; the photograph of Atlanta Neighborhood Union; and the life stories of Mary Church Terrell, Madam C. J. Walker, Ida B. Wells, and Maggie Walker.
Themes
IMMIGRATION, MIGRATION, AND SETTLEMENT; WORK, LABOR, AND ECONOMY; POWER AND POLITICS
New-York Historical Society Curriculum Library Connections
- For more about the Great Migration and Black experiences in this era, see Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow.
