The politics of race: Black women in Illinois, 1890-1920

This dissertation is a study of black women in Illinois who participated in the Progressive reform movement from 1890 to 1920. Black women in Illinois adhered to the Victorian ideal of the era and embraced the argument that women bore a moral responsibility for reforming society and addressing social ills that threatened to weaken and destroy the fabric of black life. They maintained kindergartens, orphanages, homes for the aged, shelters for wayward girls, social settlements, nursing schools, and hospitals. In 1913, when Illinois became the first state east of the Mississippi to grant female suffrage, black women broke through the parameters of the private domestic female sphere and politicized themselves. They strengthened their rhetoric, pressed for stronger anti-lynching legislation, better housing, more sanitation, and equal employment. More important, however, was their push for a race man in a key government post to represent the interest of the Afro-American community. By developing a grassroots strategy of canvassing the Second Ward of Chicago, black Chicago women were instrumental in electing Oscar DePriest as the first black alderman in Chicago. The study concludes that because black women experienced both racism and sexism, they waged war on the inequalities and injustices plaguing Afro-Americans and women. Through voluntary associations they challenged traditional perceptions of black womanhood and redefined their status. Ultimately, this redefinition addressed the needs of the Afro-American community within the context of electoral politics