By Garry Blanson
When you think about any of the long-term Black Civil Rights Organizations in Monroe, Louisiana, one of the first that comes to mind is The National Association For The Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
During Black History Month, if you were to ask anyone about the early days of The NAACP Organization. The two names most commonly mentioned in the African-American community are W.E.B. Dubois and Ida B Wells. Well, I went back and discovered that there was another outstanding Negro female who was also a co-founder of The NAACP Organization. Her name is “Mary Church Terrell.” She was born Mary Eliza Church on September 23, 1863.
According to several sources, Mary Terrell was a co-founder of The NAACP, and she also co-founded The Colored Women’s League in 1892 in Washington, D.C.
Interestingly, in 1896, the Colored Women’s League and the Federation of Afro-American Women merged to form the National Association of Colored Women[ NACW ], with Mary Church Terrell as the first president. She was also a co-founder of The National Association of College Women in 1923. Mary went on to join the fight for women’s suffrage and civil rights for Negroes.
Mary died two months after the famous “Brown vs The Board of Education” decision of The Supreme Court in 1954. Then when you thought that you had heard the last of Mary Church Terrell, she was inducted as a member of “The 2020 National Women’s Hall of Fame” along with Aretha Franklin, Toni Morrison, and Henrietta Lacks.
From my research, it appears to me that Blacks still have Black organizations in Monroe, Louisiana, just as Blacks did back in Mary’s time. However, it’s puzzling how the Black organizations that we have today don’t seem to all be on one accord. It’s not that they do not get along; it’s that they’re not working together in unison. How are Blacks going to get our fair share of what we are due if we aren’t on the same page?
It sure would be great to see the Black Leaders in Monroe, Louisiana, begin to unite & organize the Black citizens of Monroe, because we have less than two years to unite them so that we can say farewell to Mayor Oliver Ellis and his crew!
