The Political Activities of Detroit Clubwomen in the 1920s: A Challenge and a Promise

Introduction

Introduction “A Challenge and a Promise” Michigan Woman 6 (August 1928), 5 In 1919, the Detroit Times reported that some city councilmen showed their “temerity” by opposing the wishes of Detroit’s clubwomen. About forty of these clubwomen, recently enfranchised by a November state referendum, were demanding that a section of a public park be attached to a nearby girls’ home. Instead the City Council voted to condemn the property for park purposes and thereby incurred the wrath of Detroit’s white clubwomen. The newspaper praised the five councilmen who opposed the women as “bold, heroes of their convictions .” The article reveals something of both the nature of the activities of Detroit’s clubwomen and the political atmosphere in which they worked. The Detroit Times showed a respect for the political influence of these women when they reported the “temerity” of those who opposed them. At the same time, the article praised those “heroes” for not yielding to the clubwomen’s wishes. The women might have had political influence, but they were not in command. The implication was that the women were assertive and it took great courage to oppose them. Consequently, the men who voted against the clubwomen were, in fact, heroes. In the coming decade, Detroit clubwomen continued to make political demands on city, county, and state officials. They wanted both to fit in and to alter the political landscape. As fully enfranchised citizens, both black and white clubwomen wanted their voices heard. They insisted that they stood for the public good but understood that to mean middle-class morality and traditional gender roles. Furthermore , they were convinced that as organized women, they spoke for all the women of the city. In spite of this conviction white clubwomen 2 INTRODUCTION made little effort to understand or reach out to those of a different class or race. They were cautious but persistent, politically innovative but rarely radical. As with the Palmer Park vote, however, even with their high visibility, they often met with failure or, at best, limited success. The context of women’s activities in organized club work, their misplaced assumptions, and the urban context of the city of Detroit help explain these limits. Despite these limits, as the 1920s progressed, black and white clubwomen worked to optimize their political effectiveness. Detroit clubwomen lived privileged lives compared to their respective sisters. White clubwomen were middle-class to wealthy women with leisure time for club activities. Club meeting times varied but were often twice per month, with additional meeting time for the various committees within each club. White clubs usually met during the day, and the women were not paid for their many time-consuming club activities. In addition, clubwomen often had to pay for their own transportation or use their own automobiles for club business. White clubwomen were often well educated and well connected to powerful men. Many white women had teaching degrees and were related (often married to) to business and civic leaders. For example, Delphine Dodge (Mrs. R. H.) Ashbaugh was the sister of automobile manufacturers John and Horace Dodge. Dorothea Steffens was married to the city comptroller, Henry Steffens Jr. Similarly, black women’s clubs drew their membership from middle -class women with significant social connections. Their husbands, too, came from the business and professional ranks. For instance, Mary McCoy was married to the inventor Elijah McCoy, and Beulah Young’s husband, James, was Detroit’s first black surgeon. Detroit’s African American women often met at members’ houses, which demanded appropriate decor and hostess responsibilities. Many prominent members of African American women’s clubs were teachers and journalists as well. Their education and privileged position in the community enabled them to wield great influence in their clubs.1 As Detroit clubwomen inserted themselves in previously maledominated public affairs, they contributed to an evolving concept of twentieth-century politics.2 Through their voluntary associations, women opened up new possibilities for civic action. Because these associations occupied a unique position between the state and domes- 3 INTRODUCTION tic life, they offered women the opportunity to participate in public life even without suffrage and can help us understand the connection between the public and private. Activist clubwomen seized upon and developed their own political culture within these spaces that, in turn, led them to develop political ideas and actions that differed from those of men in strictly male organizations.3 As the women developed their...