On this day in Black History: Today we celebrate the life of Josephine Bruce, born on this day in 1853. Bruce was a clubwoman, teacher, social leader and race activist. Josephine Beall Willson Bruce was raised in Cleveland, Ohio, the daughter of a Dr. Joseph Willson who was a dentist and writer and Elizabeth Harnett Willson a talented musician. After graduating from Cleveland’s Central High School in 1871, and completing a teachers training course, Willson was the first Black to join the faculty of an integrated Cleveland elementary school. In 1878, she married Blanche K. Bruce, senator from Mississippi. After touring Europe they established residence in Washington, D.C. With Josephine Bruce a cultured and charming hostess, the Bruce home became a center of Washington social life. Though Blanche Bruces term ended in 1880 he received political appointments in Washington enabling the couple to remain active in social and community life. Josephine Bruce became interested in the emerging womens club movement and in 1892 became one of the charter members of the Colored Womans League of Washington, D.C. As one of a small group of black women in the nations capital who organized the National Organization of Afro-American Women (1894) to improve and promote the interests of black women, Bruce spoke at the convention of the National Federation of Afro-American Women in 1896. That convention led to the merger of two organizations forming the National Association of Colored Women. This early leadership helped her election as first vice president of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) at the 1899 convention. At that organizations 1906 meeting she was an unsuccessful candidate for the presidency when her fair complexion was used against her. Although she reduced her involvement with the NACW, she continued her club activities. While assisting in her husbands political career moves and raising their only child, Bruce held a prominent place in the social life of Washington’s Black elite and aided a number of ventures to promote the welfare of African-Americans. She was a strong advocate of industrial education for the Black masses as a way of overcoming obstacles in the path of racial progress. Following the death of her husband, Bruce became female principal of Booker T. Washington’s Tuskegee Institute from 1899 to MS, to manage her family’s cotton plantations. She returned to Washington D.C. when her Harvard-educated son became assistant superintendent in charge of the district’s Black schools. An early leader and advocate of the club movement among Black women, she was a founder of the Booklovers’ Club, the Colored Woman’s League, and the National Association of Colored Women (NACW). Josephine Bruce spent the last few months of her life in Kimball, WV, where her son had become a school principal. At the age of seventy, she died on February 15, 1923. Black History = World History = Celebrated 365 Days. Please share with Others. Sources: blackpast.org/aah/bruce-josephine-beall-willson-1853-1923 aaregistry.org/historic_events/view/concerned-citizen-josephine-bruce
Posted on: Wed, 29 Oct 2014 15:01:30 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015