The National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) is a left-of-center activist organization that advocates policies addressing racial issues specifically pertaining to Black women. It has been described as a feminist organization that seeks to advance the economic and political status of Black women. ¹

In 2021, NCNW announced a lawsuit against pharmaceutical giant Johnson and Johnson, claiming that it targeted Black women through advertising to purchase talcum powder while knowing it could cause ovarian cancer. ²

History

NCNW is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1935 by Mary Bethune. It is a coalition of activist organizations that seek to advance the status of Black women. ³ Under Bethune’s leadership, NCNW consisted of 29 groups claiming to represent over 800,000 women. ⁴

In The National Council of Negro Women and the Feminist Movement, Tracey A. Fitzgerald stated that the first four decades of NCNW’s activities were dedicated to “fulfilling Bethune’s vision of a unified women’s movement, in which black women would become ‘a powerful and effective force in addressing economic, political, and social issues which impacted upon them and their families.’” She also described that NCNW originally had conservative “tendencies” and advocated for policies that sought to advance the status of Black women. ⁵

NCNW’s advocacy under Bethune included policies “To educate, encourage and effect the participation of Negro women in civic, political, economic, and educational activities and institutions” and “To plan, initiate, and carry out projects which develop, benefit and integrate the Negro and the nation.” ⁶

Bethune was succeeded as president by Dorothy B. Ferebee, who held the post from 1949 to 1953, and Vivian C. Mason, who held the post from 1953 to 1957. Neither Ferebee nor Mason, as described by Fitzgerald, explicitly supported women to “advance” their “status” to “achieve equality” with men. Fitzgerald writes that it was not until Dorothy Height became president of NCNW in 1958 that feminism became a priority in NCNW’s advocacy. ⁷

In 1960, NCNW worked with Women’s Integrating Neighborhood Services (WINS) to advocate public policies that would allow equal opportunities for ethnic minorities to obtain housing. In the 1960s, it worked with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to support civil rights in the South, fighting for school integration following the decision of Brown v. Board of Education, as well as equality for Black people more generally. Additionally, it worked to increase voter registration of Black Americans in the South. During this period, it received a grant from the Ford Foundation to sponsor community-service projects in the South. ⁸

Also, during the 1960s, under Height’s leadership, NCNW revamped existing social programs aimed at helping Black Americans, particularly in the South, find employment, housing, childcare, and educational services. Height also aggressively increased NCNW’s role in providing shelter and food to impoverished Black Americans. ⁹

In 1964 the NCNW partnered with the Young Women’s Christian Association, the National Council of Jewish Women, the National Council of Catholic Women, and Church Women United through a project named Wednesdays in Mississippi (WIMS). The project worked with local leaders to ease racial tensions and advocate school integration. ¹⁰

Activities

The NCNW has a Red Card Campaign that promotes the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #5, “Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls.” Members of the campaign work to identify anything they believe is evidence of “gender-based discrimination and violence” and expose it as a violation of the United Nations’ goal. ¹¹

NCNW provides finance and business resources, including a webinar series, that provide general guidance to those in need of the help. It states that the resources are specifically targeted towards women with African heritage. ^{12 13}

NCNW’s website claims that it is pursuing litigation against Johnson & Johnson for its marketing of its talcum powder products towards Black women. It argues, “Since the 1990s, Johnson & Johnson has heavily targeted the marketing and advertisement of their talcum powder products to Black women, knowing that the products were unsafe and could cause ovarian cancer.” ¹⁴

NCNW hosts a “Black Women’s Roundtable” that invites members and female Black leaders to discuss what policies can be created to end the alleged “seemingly never-ending tide of racist, sexist and violent systems of oppression.” Among those discussed, it advocates the Equal Rights Amendment, which it believes would help eliminate differences in social and economic outcomes among races and genders. ¹⁵

People

Mary McLeod Bethune was the founder of the NCNW and worked as its president until 1949. She was appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt to the National Youth Administration in 1936, was the organization’s Director of Negro Affairs, was one of the founders of the United Negro College Fund, and served on President Harry Truman’s Committee of Twelve for National Defense. Prior to the founding of NCNW, Bethune had founded the educational institution now known as Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Florida. ¹⁶

Thelma Thomas Daley is president of NCNW. Previously, Daley was a college professor at various universities, counseling program director for the Baltimore County Public Schools, and president of the American School Counselor Association and Women in Community Service (WICS). ¹⁷

Funding

According to its tax returns, NCNW reported receiving $3 million in contributions and $3.4 million in total revenue in 2020. ¹⁸ Additionally, it reported total expenses of $2.9 million, including more than $880,000 on salaries and employee compensation and $15,973 on grants. ¹⁹

1. Fitzgerald, Tracey A. The National Council of Negro Women and the Feminist Movement, 1935-1975. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1985.
2. “Johnson & Johnson Lawsuit.” The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. Accessed November 28, 2022. https://ncnw.org/ncnw/johnson-johnson.
3. Fitzgerald, Tracey A. The National Council of Negro Women and the Feminist Movement, 1935-1975. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1985.
4. “Our History.” The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. Accessed November 28, 2022. https://ncnw.org/ncnw/our-history.
5. Fitzgerald, Tracey A. The National Council of Negro Women and the Feminist Movement, 1935-1975. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1985.
6. Fitzgerald, Tracey A. The National Council of Negro Women and the Feminist Movement, 1935-1975. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1985.
7. Fitzgerald, Tracey A. The National Council of Negro Women and the Feminist Movement, 1935-1975. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1985.
8. Fitzgerald, Tracey A. The National Council of Negro Women and the Feminist Movement, 1935-1975. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1985.
9. Fitzgerald, Tracey A. The National Council of Negro Women and the Feminist Movement, 1935-1975. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1985
10. Morris, Tiyi M. . “Wednesdays in Mississippi.” Mississippi Encyclopedia. Center for Study of Southern Culture, June 11, 2018. https://mississippiencyclopedia.org/entries/wednesdays-in-mississip/.
11. “NCNW & Ardn Red Card Campaign.” The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. Accessed November 28, 2022. https://ncnw.org/ncnw/red-card.
12. “Millennial Webinars.” The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. Accessed November 28, 2022. https://ncnw.org/ncnw/millennial-webinars.
13. “Economic Empowerment & Entrepreneurship.” The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. Accessed November 28, 2022. https://ncnw.org/ncnw/economic-empowerment.
14. “Johnson & Johnson Lawsuit.” The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. Accessed November 28, 2022. https://ncnw.org/ncnw/johnson-johnson.
15. “Black Women’s Roundtable (BWR) 2021 Report.” The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. Accessed November 28, 2022. https://ncnw.org/ncnw/BWR.
16. “Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune.” Bethune Cookman University. Accessed November 28, 2022. https://www.cookman.edu/history/our-founder.html
17. “Dr. Thelma T. Daley.” The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. Accessed November 28, 2022. https://ncnw.org/ncnw/thelma-daley.
18. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). National Council of Negro Women Inc. 2020. Part I, lines 8-12.
19. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). National Council of Negro Women Inc. 2020. Part I, lines 13-18.