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Elizabeth H. Miller Overview Main Ideas Between 1890 and 1920, many African-American women in Chicago were active in more than one hundred-fifty women's clubs. Many of these women were middle class, reasonably educated, and anxious to contribute to their community and their self growth. By joining women's clubs, African American women could socialize, live model middle-class lives, support welfare and educational opportunities for community children, rally for women's voting rights, protest discrimination, and enhance their own knowledge through literary studies and expressions. With a belief that they were part of W. E. B. DuBois's "talented tenth" and with their strong sense of motherhood extending to the community, African-American club women made real contributions to the social-welfare and political fabric of Chicago. Connections with the Curriculum This material may be used to teach United States history, African-American history, Chicago history, or social studies. The narrative and activities may be appropriate for meeting the Illinois Learning Standards 16.A.2C, 16.A.4a, 16.D.2, 18.B.2a, 18.B.4. Teaching Level
Grades 8-10 Materials for Each Student
• The narrative portion of the article Objectives for Each Student
• Learn and use skills to enable students to read the narrative with understanding.
Opening the Lesson Ask the class what rights women have in the United States and move the discussion to the kinds of responsibilities, jobs, and activities involving women. Have the students consider whether these rights and opportunities existed for women, particularly African-American women, one hundred years ago. Introduce the narrative as information about the changing role of women at the turn of the nineteenth century. The students should begin reading the 14 narrative in class; encourage them to write down what they think are important ideas and information next to the paragraphs and to identify words they do not understand. The rest of the narrative should be completed as homework along with Activity 1 so the students can process the information in a format directing their reading. Younger students benefit and gain confidence when there is some structure to aid assimilation of the assignment. Developing the Lesson Before proceeding with activities 2 through 6, review the narrative and Activity 1 to be sure the students understand the content. Use the author's four questions in the first paragraph for open-ended class discussion. Ask the students if they think the clubs were successful and have them cite evidence from the article to support their answers. Do they think all women joined clubs for all the reasons they listed? Why? Why not?
Activity 1 presents a structure for the students to write down important information from the narrative and to draw conclusions about women's activities and their concerns of the day. Using their completed chart, they could write an in-class summary of the narrative which would help reinforce the reading and enable the teacher to evaluate how well they understood the content. Activity 2 requires the students to consider one of the core beliefs of the women's clubs, the idea of people reaching personal future goals, but not forgetting to help others who are less fortunate. It is important the students understand the idea, as it is basic to many of the activities of the clubs. Expressing it artistically as a symbol or sign reinforces understanding the belief and helps the teacher evaluate the students' work. Activity 3 encourages the students to conduct independent research and express themselves artistically and creatively. Beyond their creativity, be sure they understand the economic benefit that the club woman's purchase has for other women in the community. Activity 4 introduces students to photographs as historical documents and requires them to be observant, think critically, and evaluate what conclusions cannot be drawn from such evidence. The exercise also encourages the students to consider new questions about the photo. It would be helpful to provide each student with another photograph, perhaps from a different time and of a different subject, and practice the procedure as a class. In small groups with a third photo, they might practice one more time more independently before they do the one provided in this activity. Students will be tempted to give subjective conclusions that cannot be drawn from only looking at the photo. Activity 5 offers students an opportunity to review the narrative and pull out information and present it in a new written format, thus providing a chance to express themselves factually and creatively. If they do not understand what minutes are, explain they are a record of the meeting and need to be written to provide a permanent document. Rather than provide the activity sheet at the beginning of this assignment, have the students talk about the kinds of things that might happen at a club meeting and that would be included in the minutes of such a meeting. They should not be limited to the guideline provided in the activity. 16 Activity 6 provides an alternative way to restate the information learned in the narrative and challenges the student to create a speech to convince classmates that belonging to a woman's club is an enjoyable and productive way to spend their time. By having the student speak from the persona of Ida B. Wells, the speaker has historical credibility as she is well respected. (See Illinois History Teacher, Volume 3:1,1996, "Ida Wells-Barnett Confronts Race and Gender Discrimination" for background information) All students should do Activity 1 to be sure the narrative is read and understood. Activity 4 introduces a skill students may not have been exposed to before and one that can be applied to photo evidence that surrounds us in newspapers, newscasts, magazines, textbooks, etc. Activities 3, 5, and 6 could be a category of assignments to choose from as they have some similarities but provide different expressions of creativity. Activities 3 and 5 might work well for a group of 2 or 3 students to do together. Concluding the Lesson Review the narrative and have the students reflect on the contributions of club women, considering if they would have enjoyed being in a club. Explain why. Discuss with the students about living conditions in Chicago and big cities today. Do some of the same concerns and problems still exist? If so, does that mean people should not bother trying to solve urban problems? What can students do individually or as a group to be good and contributing citizens in whatever community they live? Extending the Lesson As opportunities arise to look at additional photographs in future lessons, reinforce the skill of Activity 4, challenging the students to interpret the visual messages carefully. Many schools today have student community service requirements. If your school does not, is there interest in starting such a program? Perhaps your students could do service in school, deciding on goals and activities, presenting a proposal to the principal, and keeping records on the project. Read the newspaper looking for articles about groups of citizens who have community programs, such as Junior League, Rotary, Lions, or religious-sponsored organizations. Look for individual citizens who serve on community boards or do volunteer work. How do these people and organizations contribute to the community? Is this important? Why or why not?
Consider the photograph in Activity 4 to stimulate student thinking about current circumstances in their own community. Have students write individual letters or a class letter to their alderman, councilman, or mayor about conditions that they see as needing improvement. Assessing the Lesson
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This is a circle/rectangular chart for the students to complete as they read the narrative. The goal is to get multiple answers to the questions "Why Did African-American Women Create Such a Variety of Women's Clubs?" and "What Political and Social Purposes Did These Clubs Serve?"
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The national motto of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs (NACWC) was "lifting as we climb". Explain what that motto means to you. Create a drawn symbol or sign depicting "lifting as we climb." Include the motto and any words and/or images that help illustrate this concept.
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Design a Dress and Hat for Your Women's Club Annual Spring Tea.
According to the article, club women provided business to local dressmakers and milliners (hat makers), which in turn supported the economy of the neighborhood, particularly the work of other women. Imagine you need a new dress and hat for your women's club's annual spring tea.
Research the fashion of the early 1900s and design a dress and hat which could be made for you. Include an explanation of the color, type of fabric, and any trimmings you would include on the dress and hat.
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Using the photograph of a 1900s Chicago alley, list your observations of the scene in the column "What I See." Think about those observations and draw your own conclusions about what life was like for those who lived along the alley. List those ideas under the "What I Conclude" column. Then think about what you CANNOT conclude about life along the alley by observing the photograph. Write those observations in the "What I Cannot Conclude" column. Finally, at the bottom of the page, write additional questions you would like to ask about what you see in the photograph.
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Describing a Women's Club's Session through Meeting Minutes
Based on the narrative, create an imaginary women's club meeting and write the minutes of one such meeting. You might include the date, place, number of members present, the names of any of the club members who participate in the day's business, how the meeting is opened, what business is discussed and voted upon, if there is a guest speaker what topic is presented, what kind of social time (i.e. dessert) occurs, and how the meeting is closed.
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Ida B. Veils Wants You
You are Ida B. Wells and have come to your class to explain why your audience of classmates should be a member of a women's club. Mrs. Wells is well known and highly respected. Research Ida B. Wells for background information and use the narrative to help you provide positive reasons for joining a women's club. Give your speech to your classmates.
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