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The International Council of Women of the Darker Races: An examination of the Pan African activism of Mary McLeod Bethune, Nannie Burroughs, and Henrietta Davis
Fri, March 21, 5:00 to 6:15pm, Hilton Cincinnati Netherland Plaza, Floor: 4th, Salon GAbstract
The International Council of Women of the Darker Races (ICWDR), established in 1922 by Mary McLeod Bethune, served as a groundbreaking platform for Black women to address racial and gender inequalities. This paper examines the ICWDR as a critical yet underexplored nexus of early Pan-African thought and activism, focusing on the contributions of three pioneering members. Through their collective civil and global rights work, these women laid a foundation for Black solidarity, advocacy, and cultural pride that paralleled and intersected with the broader Pan-African movement.
Bethune’s drive for educational access and institution-building laid the foundation for liberating African-descended communities, establishing schools, and advocating for political participation as tools of liberation and global inspiration. Nannie Helen Burroughs’s visionary educational initiatives empowered Black women as leaders and change agents, integrating self-determination and racial uplift into a framework of global liberation. Henrietta Vinton Davis, a key figure in the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) and the ICWDR, used her oratory skills and leadership to inspire transnational unity and cultural nationalism.
This study situates the ICWDR and these three women within the early 20th-century Pan-Africanist discourse, exploring how their collective efforts challenged colonialism, white dominance, and patriarchy. It also highlights how their work underscored the critical intersection of race, gender, and global solidarity in the fight for justice. By examining the ICWDR as a precursor to later Pan-Africanist and civil rights movements, this paper underscores the transformative role of Black women as forerunners of global liberation efforts. Finally, it provides considerations for modern applications.