Mary McLeod Bethune founded the National Council of Negro Women in 1935 to consolidate the activism of African American female professional and political organizations. The council emphasized national politics, African American female employment, and civil rights. During World War II, the organization helped recruit African American women into the Women's Army Corps. By 1949 its membership was 850,000. During the 1950s, the council worked for voter registration, anti-lynching legislation, and the Fair Employment Practices Commission. During the 1960s and 1970s, the council promoted self-help programs for poor southerners. In 1979 it established the Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial Museum and the National Archives for Black Women's History.
Bibliography
Collier-Thomas, Bettye. N.C.N.W., 1935–1980. Washington, D.C.: National Council of Negro Women, 1981.
McCluskey, Audrey Thomas, and Elaine M. Smith, eds. Mary McLeod Bethune, Building A Better World: Essays and Selected Documents. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1999.
