Fannie Jackson Coppin Club facts for kids
The Fannie Jackson Coppin Club was an important group for African American women in Alameda County, California. This club helped get people ready to vote, especially before and after women in California won the right to vote in 1911. Many women in the club were also active in the movement for women's voting rights, called the suffrage movement.
Club's Beginning
The Fannie Jackson Coppin Club started in Oakland in June 1899. It was formed by women from the Beth Eden Baptist Church. This was the very first club for African American women in Oakland.
The club was named after Fanny Jackson Coppin. She was the first African American woman to become a school principal. A university, Coppin State University, is also named after her.
The club's main goals were to study culture and make the community better. Their motto was "Deeds Not Words." They also used "Lifting as We Climb." For a long time, the club was like a "mother club" for other Black women's clubs in California. A journalist named Delilah Beasley often wrote about the club's activities in her newspaper column.
Helping the Elderly
One important project the club helped with was creating the Home for the Aged and Infirm Colored People. This home was in Oakland, California. It was the first place in California to care for elderly African Americans.
Club Members
Many well-known women from Oakland were members of the club. These included important suffragists and club leaders. Some of them were Melba Stafford, Willa Henry, Emma Scott, and Hettie B. Tilghman.
Lasting Impact
The club members created many different groups. These groups worked to improve the lives of African Americans in the East Bay area.
In 1920, Hettie B. Tilghman, Willa Henry, Melba Stafford, and Delilah Beasley started the Linden Center Young Women's Christian Association. The Linden Center YWCA offered job training and cultural programs. Even with new groups forming, the Fannie Jackson Coppin Club stayed active. It continued its work until the 1960s.
See also
- Fanny Jackson Coppin
- List of California suffragists
- Timeline of the women's suffrage movement in California
- Women's suffrage in California
