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Difficulty: Very hardBlack Women's Activism and the Club Movement

Read the following excerpt from Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin's opening address at the First National Conference of Colored Women in 1895:

"Our woman’s movement is a woman’s movement in that it is led and directed by women for the good of women and men, for the benefit of all humanity, which is more than any one branch or section of it... We are not drawing the color line; we are only drawing the line of character... We feel that we can best do this by coming together, by discussion, by association, by comparison of views, by planning for work."

Based on the excerpt, which of the following best explains how Ruffin’s vision for the Black women's club movement differed from the goals of mainstream white women's organizations of the same era?

  1. A
    It limited the scope of activism to local church-affiliated missionary work, in contrast to white women’s clubs which actively sought to influence secular policy and run for public office.
  2. B
    It prioritized obtaining federal voting rights as the single necessary step to achieve equality, mirroring the singular legislative focus of white suffrage organizations.
  3. It defined the movement's mission as an intersectional effort to uplift both men and women of the race alongside all humanity, whereas mainstream white women's clubs largely focused on gender-specific advocacy without addressing racial injustice.Answer
  4. D
    It rejected political agitation and public campaigns against racial terror, advising women instead to focus strictly on household management and moral reform to placate white opponents.

Answer

The Black women's club movement defined its mission as an intersectional effort to uplift both men and women of the race alongside all humanity, whereas mainstream white women's clubs largely focused on gender-specific advocacy without addressing racial injustice.
The correct answer accurately states that Ruffin's vision was intersectional and aimed at uplifting the entire community ('for the good of women and men, for the benefit of all humanity'), which directly contrasted with mainstream white women's clubs of the era that typically prioritized middle-class gender struggles while ignoring racial issues and excluding Black women.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the primary source excerpt from Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin's 1895 address.
Ruffin outlines that the movement is led by women but works 'for the good of women and men' and for 'all humanity,' indicating a broader, community-wide and human rights-based focus.
Understanding the source's literal meaning is the first step in identifying the underlying political ideology of the movement.
2
Contrast Ruffin's goals with those of contemporary mainstream white women's clubs.
Mainstream white women's clubs during the late nineteenth century frequently excluded Black women and focused narrowly on gender-specific issues (e.g., suffrage, temperance) without challenging racial segregation or racial violence.
This establishes the historical context of exclusion and the differing priorities between Black and white women's organizations.
3
Synthesize the findings to select the matching analysis.
The correct analysis must highlight the intersectional, race-and-gender-unified approach to uplift, which distinguishes Ruffin's vision from the narrower, gender-only focus of white-led organizations.
This allows for the correct identification of the intersectional strategy ('Lifting as We Climb') of the Club Movement.

Key Concept

Intersectionality and Community Uplift in the Black Women's Club Movement
Estimated Time:2m 30s
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Topics

Black Women's Activism and the Club Movement

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