National Association of Colored Women's Clubs organized

Background. Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, a publisher and editor of the Woman's Era, organized the Woman's Era Club in 1894 and the National Federation of Afro-American Women in 1895. Her 'call to confer' to all women of color led to the First National Conference of the Colored Women of America in Boston, attended by clubs from 14 states. The merger into a national body followed the next year at Ruffin's call.

Organization. The National Association of Colored Women was established in Washington, D.C., on July 21, 1896, through a merger of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, the Woman's Era Club of Boston, and the Colored Women's League of Washington. The organization aimed to demonstrate that the aims of Black women were identical to those of all good aspiring women, adopting the motto 'Lifting as we climb.'

Leadership. Mary Church Terrell served as the first president from 1896 to 1900. Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin and Mary Church Terrell organized regional clubs at the July 1896 convention to resist negative representations of Black women. Ruffin used her estate to fund the Woman's Era, the first journal published by and for African-American women, which she edited from 1890 to 1897.