National Council of Negro Women

By Jone Johnson Lewis, About.com Guide

See More About

Dates:

founded December 5, 1935, by Mary McLeod Bethune

Also Known as:

NCNW (that acronym is also used by the National Congress of Neighborhood Women, founded 1974)

Vision:

NCNW was founded as an "organization of organizations," bringing together many different national and local organizations serving or representing African American women. The National Council of Negro Women, Inc., today has as its vision, "to lead, develop and advocate for women of African descent."

Key People:

Mary McLeod Bethune: founder; national president 1935-1949
Dorothy Height: national president 1957-1996
Fannie Lou Hamer created the Pig Bank, a cooperative serving the poor in Mississippi, through the NCNW in 1968

Projects:

Historically, the NCNW emphasized employment, civil rights, anti-lynching, and voter registration. In the 1970s, more training for self-help and economic opportunity was added, and later more emphasis on strengthening the black family.

During World War II, the NCNW helped recruit women for the Women's Army Corps.

NCNW moved to national headquarters in Washington, DC, in 1942, and received tax-exempt status in 1966.

In 1979, NCNW founded the Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial Museum, including the National Archives for Black Women's History.

National annual Black Family Reunion Celebrations have been held since 1986.

Current projects include the Dorothy I. Height Leadership Institute; Bethune Program Development Center; and the Research, Public Policy and Information Center. Recent international programs have included projects in Egypt and Senegal.