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THE WOMEN'S T H R E E CLUBS AND POLITICAL REFORM IHERE WER E MAN Y POLITICA L ISSUE S AROUN D WHIC H Chicago Africa n America n clu b wome n rallied . Face d with discrimination in schools, businesses, and public facilities , women hel d forums an d discussions , conducte d let ter -writing campaigns , an d wrot e editoria l an d speeches . In some cases the women's clubs assisted in providing legal representation and counse l t o politica l prisoner s an d other s wh o coul d no t affor d it . However, femal e suffrag e wa s on e o f th e mor e pressin g issue s an d th e one in which th e clu b women mos t demonstrate d thei r political clout . Before Worl d Wa r I Africa n America n an d whit e clu b wome n ha d formed fledglin g coalitions , a t least i n Chicago . Thes e coalition s paral leled the formation o f the interracial national organizations the NAAC P and th e Urba n League . Jan e Addams , Louis e d e Kove n Bowen , an d Mary McDowell , t o nam e onl y a few whit e femal e reformers , worke d in conjunctio n wit h Africa n America n wome n i n Chicag o o n issue s o f discrimination i n housing, juvenile facilitie s fo r African America n chil - dren, and female suffrage. Despit e African America n and white women' s agreement o n female suffrage , thei r specific politica l agendas an d strate gies differed . Africa n America n clu b women , lik e white women , ofte n used the issues of child welfare an d home life to foreground communit y concerns, bu t the y dre w fro m thei r womanis t identity , a n identit y tha t demanded an d ensure d communit y collectivity. 1 Th e mandat e fo r suc h collectivity was decidedly effectiv e i n the Secon d Ward's alderman elec tions i n 1914 : the mor e Africa n America n votes , th e greate r th e likeli hood o f electing an African America n politician . Although African America n women were acknowledged for effectin g political chang e within thei r communities , ther e were nonetheles s gen der tension s resultin g fro m thei r involvement . Undaunted , th e clu b women, whe n grante d th e righ t t o vot e i n municipa l elections , regis tered voters e n masse, thereby forming a formidable votin g block. Suc h strategies ensure d politica l representation , eviden t i n Osca r d e Priest' s aldermanic victory . However , a s wit h muc h Progressiv e reform , thei r female volunteerism formed a dialectic relationship: it expanded, a s well as diminished , th e possibilitie s fo r femal e politica l leadership . Fo r on e thing, women campaigne d tirelessly as volunteers but were not accorde d visible leadership positions . Furthermore , i n predicatin g thei r politica l agency o n th e issue s o f children' s welfar e an d family , th e clu b wome n limited th e exten t o f thei r politica l influence . Conversely , though , th e women conflate d thei r voluntary space to achiev e what n o othe r Africa n American organizatio n in Chicago had done: elect an African America n official.2 THE PERSUASION O F POLITICS, THE POLITICS OF PERSUASION: FEMALE SUFFRAGE Nationally, ther e wa s n o consensu s amon g Africa n Americans , no r among the club women, o n the issue of women s suffrage. Som e though t suffrage imperative ; other s foun d i t extraneou s an d inconsequentia l because muc h progres s ha d alread y bee n achieve d withou t it . Eve n when ther e wa s agreement , i t wa s ofte n fo r varyin g reasons . Som e African Americans , both male and female, articulate d argument s for th e moral superiority o f women, reminiscen t o f true womanhood ideology . Fiction write r Charle s Chestnutt , fo r one , praise d women's "fin e intu itions " an...

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