Association of Black Women Historians

Association of Black Women Historians

Formation	October 1979
Founders	Rosalyn Terborg-Penn Eleanor Smith Eleanor Parker
Type	Professional association
Tax ID no.	52-1305573
Headquarters	Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Official language	English
National Director	Ida E. Jones
National Vice Director	Rose Thevenin
Secretary	Sandy Jowers-Barber
Treasurer	Kenvi Phillips
Website	www.abwh.org

The Association of Black Women Historians (ABWH) is a non-profit professional association based in Silver Spring, Maryland in the United States. The organization was developed in 1977 and formally founded in 1979.^[1]

History

The Association for Black Women Historians was conceived in 1977 by three Black women historians: Eleanor Parker, Eleanor Smith, and Rosalyn Terborg-Penn.^[2] These women were interested in creating an organization that would foster community between black women historians during the late 20th century. The organization's constitution specifically outlines four organizational goals, which are: to establish a network among the membership, to promote Black women in the profession, to disseminate information about opportunities in the field, and to make suggestions regarding research topics and repositories. Before officially launching the organization in late 1979 in New York, there were multiple meetings held across the country in Cincinnati, California, and Massachusetts, where the women worked to establish a framework for the organization. The framework consisted of there being a committee with elected officials, whose job was to name the organization as well as produce a newsletter entitled Truth, which was named after notable black woman abolitionist, Sojourner Truth.^[3] The first members of the executive committee were: Darlene Clarke Hine, Rosalyn Terborg-Penn, Janice Sumler-Lewis, Bettye J. Gardner, Sharon Harley, Cheryl Johnson, Juanita Moore, Sylvia M. Jacobs, Maria A. Brown, and Cynthia Neverdon-Morton. Historically, the organization has held research conferences, annual luncheons committed to sustaining its organizational goals, as well as publishing an anthology to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the organization. The first research conference took place at Howard University in 1983 entitled “Women in the African Diaspora: An Interdisciplinary Perspective.” The first luncheon was held in 1981, which featured keynote speakers as well as served as an organizational fundraising opportunity. The featured keynote speakers came from an array of disciplines and professional backgrounds including: Nell Irvin Painter, Elizabeth Clarke Lewis, and Mary Frances Berry. In 1992, brief remarks were given by, then presidential candidate Bill Clinton.^[4]

Presently, the Association for Black Women Historians continues to hold annual their annual luncheon and has published two books: In Spite of the Double Drawbacks: African American Women in History and Culture and The Truth Worth of Race: African American Women and the Struggle for Freedom.Ida E. Jones is the current national director. In 2012, ABWH published a statement about the film The Help. They stated that the film "distorts, ignores, and trivializes the experiences of black domestic workers."^[5] Association for Black Women Historians Perspective on film "The Help"

References

• Dagbovie, Pero Gaglo. "Black women historians from late 19th century to the dawning of the civil rights movement." Journal of African American History. pp. 241–261.

Footnotes