National Archives for Black Women's History facts for kids

The National Archives for Black Women's History is a special place in Landover, Maryland. It used to be called the National Council of Negro Women's National Library, Archives, and Museum. This archive is all about finding, fixing, and keeping important papers and photos of African American women.

People started collecting these materials in 1935. The archive officially became the National Archives for Black Women's History in 1978. It was first located in Washington, D.C. at the home of Mary McLeod Bethune. Her home is now a National Historic Site. In 2014, the National Park Service moved the archive. They felt the old building wasn't safe enough to protect the valuable collection.

How the Archives Started

In August 1935, a woman named Mary Ritter Beard wanted to gather historical items about African American women. She asked Dorothy B. Porter, a librarian at Howard University, for help.

Other important black women joined this project. These included Mary McLeod Bethune, who started the National Council of Negro Women in December 1935. Also involved were Elizabeth Carter Brooks and Mary Church Terrell, who had led the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs. Sue Bailey Thurman, a writer and historian, also helped.

The first committee to collect these materials was led by Dorothy Porter. She also asked Juanita Jackson Mitchell, the first black woman lawyer in Maryland, to join.

First Exhibits and Growth

The first display of collected items happened in December 1939 in Washington, D.C. Even after the larger Women's Archives group ended in 1940, this committee kept going on its own.

Mary McLeod Bethune suggested they get a building. This building would be a headquarters for the National Council of Negro Women and a place for the archives. The committee raised money and put on their own exhibits.

In the same year, Sue Bailey Thurman started the Aframerican Women's Journal. She used this magazine to tell people about the archives. She asked women to send in their important papers.

Collecting More Stories

In 1946, the committee held a "National Archives Day." They told churches, libraries, and other groups in Washington, D.C., about it. The Aframerican magazine also asked for archival materials.

That same year, the committee created a radio show. It told the stories of famous black women like Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, and Phillis Wheatley. This show aired on WWDC radio in June 1947.

In 1949, Sue Bailey Thurman met with reporters. She wanted them to help promote the work of the National Archives and Museum Department.

Throughout the 1950s, the committee kept asking for historical items. They showed exhibits with historic dolls by sculptor Meta Vaux Warrick Fuller. They also displayed a quilt showing Harriet Tubman.

In 1958, the committee asked black women for their recipes. They wanted to share a different kind of history—one that showed the community's shared work. Thurman put these recipes together and published The Historical Cookbook of the American Negro. This book not only had recipes but also stories about black history. It told stories of professional women to show that not all black women were maids.

Reopening the Archives

Work on the archive slowed down from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. During this time, people focused more on the Civil Rights Movement.

In 1976, for the United States Bicentennial celebration, Senator John Warner helped get money from Congress. This money was used to fix up Mary McLeod Bethune's last home at 1318 Vermont Avenue, Washington, D.C.

The next year, Bettye Collier-Thomas helped create the Bethune Museum in the property. She turned the carriage house into a place for the National Archives for Black Women's History. In 1978, the effort to restart the archive began again. With a grant, the archives opened to researchers in November 1979. Linda J. Henry helped organize the archive.

In 1982, the Bethune House became a National Historic Site. This allowed it to get money from the government. In 1991, the National Park Service took over the property.

In 2014, the Park Service decided to move the archive from the Bethune property. They were worried about keeping the records safe there. The archives moved to the National Park Service Museum Resource Center in Landover, Maryland.

What You Can Find There

The archives are open by appointment. A big part of the collection includes documents about the National Council of Negro Women. It also has papers from its different groups, the museum, and the house.

Other collections include the papers of many important women. Some of these are Helen Elsie Austin, Frances Mary Beal, Jeanetta Welch Brown, Gurthalee Clark, Polly Spiegel Cowan, Edmonia White Davidson, Dorothy Height, Lois Mailou Jones, Daisy Lampkin, Annie Turnbo Malone, Faith Ringgold, Malkia Roberts, Dovey Johnson Roundtree, Mabel Keaton Staupers, Mary Burnett Talbert, and Madam C. J. Walker.

You can also find records and items from groups like the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, Chi Eta Phi sorority, Eta Phi Beta sorority, and the Tau Gamma Delta sorority. There are also materials from other groups, like the National Alliance of Black Feminists.

Two special collections focus on black women in the military. These are the Martha Settle Putney Women's Army Corps Collection and the Prudence Burns Burrell Army Nurses Corps Collection.