National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, Inc.Josephine St. Pierre RuffinMary Church TerrellJosephine Silone YatesMrs. Margaret Murray WashingtonMrs. Marie Wright TolliverLifting As We Climb
National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, Inc.Women Meeting the Challenge of Social, Political and Economic Leadership in the Global Society
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History of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, Inc.

In 1895, Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin issued a call for a national meeting of Colored Women to take place in Boston, Massachusetts. Following that initial meeting, the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, Inc. was organized in 1896 in Washington D.C. at the Nineteenth Street Baptist Church. NACWC grew out of the merger of two nationally representative organizations. The Colored Women's League of Washington and the National Federation of Afro-American Women. Mrs. Mary Church Terrell was elected the first president.

The Colored Women's League was organized in 1893 in Washington, D.C. with Mrs. Helen Cook as President. The National Federation of Afro-American Women had been organized in Boston, Massachusetts in 1895 with Mrs. Booker T. Washington as President.

The birth of NACWC in 1896 marked the beginning of a new era in African American womanhood and provided a vehicle for action through organized effort.

Milestones of Progress
Incorporated July 26, 1904 in St. Louis, Missouri
Paid Mortgage on Douglas Home		 1916
Established Hallie Quinn Brown Scholarship Loan Fund 1922
Built Douglass Home Caretaker Cottage 1924
Purchased National Headquarters at 1114 0 St., N.W Washington, D.C. 1928
Established National Association of Colored Girls 1930
Purchased current National Headquarters at 1601 R Street, N,W, Washington, D.C. 1954
Paid Mortgage on National Headquarters 1962
Frederick Douglass Home Declared National Shrine by an Act of Congress 1962
Purchased National Headquarters at 5808 16th St., N.W, Washington, D.C. 1970
Paid mortgage on National Headquarters 1978
Organized National Association of Boys Club 1980
Established Gertrude Johnson Williams Oratorical Contest for NACWC Youth 1982
Established Male Volunteers 1984
Home and School Institute Mentoring Program instituted
NACWC Record available on microfilm for scholarly research		 1992
Built Maternity Healthcare Center in Senegal 1994
Celebrated 100th Anniversary 1996
Organized College Chapters at Texas, Tennessee and Purdue Universities 1997
Initiated pilot project to establish Grandparents Academy 1998
Established the NACWC/Talladega College Education Partnership 1998
Completed renovation of 1601 R Street, N. W. Headquarters 2000
Initiated collaboration with Women for Women 2000
Received grant from estate of Dr. Edmonia Polite to Establish the Patricia L. Fletcher Scholarship 2002
Received first place monetary award from the Black Woman’s Agenda for the Grandparents Academy funded by Annie E. Casey Foundation 2002
Initiated collaboration with Women for Women International 2003
Participated in the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Mary Church Terrell Place in Washington, DC 2004
Commissioned 2nd edition of NACWC Legacy of Service 2005
Celebrated 110th Anniversary in Detroit, Michigan 2006

1896-1900
First President
Mrs. Mary Church Terrell

1900-1904
Second President
Mrs. Josephine Silone Yates

1904-1908
Third President
Mrs. Lucy Thurman

1908-1912
Fourth President
Mrs. Elizabeth Carter Brooks

1912-1916
Fifth President
Mrs. Booker T. Washington

1916-1920
Sixth President
Mrs. Mary B. Talbert

1920-1924
Seventh President
Miss Hallie Q. Brown

1924-1928
Eighth President
Mrs. Mary McLeod Bethune

1928-1933
Ninth President
Mrs. Sallie W. Stewart

1933-1937
Tenth President
Dr. Mary F. Waring

1937-1941
Eleventh President
Mrs. Robert Moton

1941-1945
Twelfth President
Mrs. Ada Belle DeMent

1945-1948
Thirteenth President
Mrs. Christine S. Smith

1948-1952
Fourteenth President
Mrs. Ella P. Stewart

1952-1958
Fifteenth President
Mrs. Irene McCoy Gaines

1958-1964
Sixteenth President
Dr. Rosa L. Gragg

1964-1968
Seventeenth President
Mrs. Mamie B. Reese

1968-1972
Eigteenth President
Mrs. Myrtle Ollison

1972-1976
Nineteenth President
Mrs. Juanita W. Brown

1976-1980
Twentieth President
Mrs. Inez W. Tinsley

1980-1984
Twenty-first President
Mrs. Otelia E. Champion

1984-1988
Twenty-second President
Mrs. Myrtle E. Gray

1988-1992
Twenty-third President
Dr. Dolores M. Harris

1992-1996
Twenty-fourth President
Dr. Savannah C. Jones

1996-2002
Twenty-fifth President
Dr. Patricia L. Fletcher

2002-2006
Twenty-sixth President
Mrs. Margaret J. Cooper

2006-current
Twenty-seventh President
Dr. Marie Wright Tolliver