Fannie Jackson Coppin Club

The Fannie Jackson Coppin Club, also known as the Fanny Jackson Coppin Club, was a club for politically active African American women located in Alameda County, California. The club played an important role in community outreach to voters before and after the passage of Proposition 4 in 1911 which granted women in California the right to vote. Many of the women involved in the club were active in the California suffrage movement.

Fanny Jackson Coppin
Hettie Blonde Tilghman, member of the Fannie Jackson Coppin Club

History of the club

The Fannie Jackson Coppin Club was formed in Oakland in June 1899 by women of Beth Eden Baptist Church.[1][2][3] This club was the first club for African American women in Oakland.[4] It was named after Fanny Jackson Coppin who was the first African American woman to become a school principal.[5] Coppin State University is named after Fannie Jackson.[5] The stated goal of the club was to study culture and community improvement.[6] The state motto of the club was "Deeds Not Words."[7] It also used the motto "Lifting as We Climb".[8] During its heyday, the club served as a "mother club" for black club women in California.[9] Journalist and historian Delilah Beasley reported on the activities of the club in her popular column, "Activities Among the Negroes."[10]

Home for the Aged and Infirm Colored People

One of the notable 19th century projects organized by the club was the club's involvement in the creation of the Home for the Aged and Infirm Colored People in Oakland, California.[2] This was the first organization to provide care for elderly African Americans in the state of California.[11]

Membership

Members included many notable Oakland area suffragists and club women including Melba Stafford, Willa Henry, Emma Scott and Hettie B. Tilghman.[12]

Legacy of the club

Club members created a wide variety of organizations aimed to improve the lives of African Americans in the east bay. Hettie B. Tilghman, Willa Henry, Melba Stafford and Delilah Beasley were very community oriented and in 1920 they created the Linden Center Young Women's Christian Association.[2] The Linden Center YWCA offered vocational training as well as cultural programs. Despite the creation of independent organizations that grew out of the Fannie Jackson Coppin club, it remained intact and lasted well into the 1960s.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Fannie Jackson Coppin Club".
  2. Taylor, Martha C. (2016-06-24). From Labor to Reward: Black Church Beginnings in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and Richmond, 1849-1972. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 9781498232814.
  3. Heritage, Autry Museum of Western (2001). Seeking El Dorado: African Americans in California. University of Washington Press. ISBN 9780295980829.
  4. "Guide to the Colored Women's Clubs Associations Collection". www.oac.cdlib.org. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  5. Carrillo, Karen Juanita (2012-08-22). African American History Day by Day: A Reference Guide to Events: A Reference Guide to Events. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781598843613.
  6. Fullett, Gayle (2000). Becoming Citizens: The Emergence and Development of the California Women's Movement 1880-1911. University of Illinois Press. p. 123.
  7. "1964-1965 year book Fannie Jackson Coppin Club". Calisphere. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  8. Praetzellis, Mary; Praetzellis, Adrian. ""Black is Beautiful": From Porters to Panthers in West Oakland" (PDF). Putting the "There" There: Historical Archaeologies of West Oakland.
  9. Mjagkij, Nina (May 13, 2013). Organizing Black America. Routledge. ISBN 978-1135581237. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
  10. "Allen: Paying homage to former Tribune columnist Delilah L. Beasley". The Mercury News. 2012-08-31. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
  11. Pollard, Leslie J. (1980). "Black Beneficial Societies and the Home for Aged and Infirm Colored Persons: A Research Note". Phylon. 41 (3): 230–234. doi:10.2307/274786. ISSN 0031-8906. JSTOR 274786.
  12. "Biographical Sketch of Willa Henry, 1872-1936 | Alexander Street, a ProQuest Company". search.alexanderstreet.com. Retrieved 2019-08-19.
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