The Association of Black Women Historians (ABWH) is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

professional association A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that professio ...

based in

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, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. The organization was developed in 1977 and formally founded in 1979.

History

The Association of Black Women Historians was conceived in 1977 by three

Black women Black women are women of sub-Saharan African and Afro-diasporic descent, as well as women of Australian Aboriginal and Melanesian descent. The term 'Black' is a racial classification of people, the definition of which has shifted over time and a ...

historians: Elizabeth Parker, Eleanor Smith, and

Rosalyn Terborg-Penn Rosalyn Terborg-Penn (October 22, 1941 – December 25, 2018) was an American professor of history and author. Terborg-Penn specialized in African-American history and black women's history. Her book ''African American Women in the Struggle for th ...

. The organization's constitution outlines four goals: establish a network among the membership, promote Black women in the profession, disseminate information about opportunities in the field, and suggest research topics and repositories. Before the organization was launched in late 1979 in New York, meetings were held across the country in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, and

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, where the women established its framework. A committee was elected to name the organization as well as produce a newsletter, ''Truth'', named after the Black woman abolitionist Sojourner Truth. The first members of the executive committee were

Darlene Clark Hine Darlene Clark Hine (born February 7, 1947) is an American author and professor in the field of African-American history. She is a recipient of the 2014 National Humanities Medal. Early life and education Darlene Clark was born in Morley, Missouri ...

, Janice Sumler-Lewis, Bettye J. Gardner, Sharon Harley, Cheryl Johnson,

Juanita Moore Juanita Moore (October 19, 1914 – January 1, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actress. She was the fifth black actor to be nominated for an Academy Award in any category, and the third in the Supporting Actress category at a t ...

, Sylvia M. Jacobs, Maria A. Brown, and Cynthia Neverdon-Morton. The organization has held research conferences and annual luncheons, and published an anthology to commemorate the 20th anniversary of its founding. Its first research conference, at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

in 1983, was titled "Women in the African Diaspora: An Interdisciplinary Perspective". The first luncheon, in 1981, featured keynote speakers and helped raise funds for the group. The keynote speakers included

Nell Irvin Painter Nell Irvin Painter (born Nell Elizabeth Irvin; August 2, 1942) is an American historian notable for her works on United States Southern history of the nineteenth century. She is retired from Princeton University as the Edwards Professor of Ameri ...

, Elizabeth Clarke Lewis, and

Mary Frances Berry Mary Frances Berry (born February 17, 1938) is an American historian, writer, lawyer, activist and professor who focuses on U.S. constitutional and legal, African-American history. Berry is the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Tho ...

. In 1992, brief remarks were given by then presidential candidate

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

. The Association of Black Women Historians continues to hold annual its 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.'' Erica Armstrong Dunbar is the current national director. In 2012, ABWH published a statement about the film ''

The Help ''The Help'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Kathryn Stockett and published by Penguin Books in 2009. The story is about African Americans working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi, during the early 1960s. A ''USA To ...

'', stating that the film "distorts, ignores, and trivializes the experiences of black

domestic workers A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

.""Association of Black Women Historians: Open Letter to Fans of 'The Help'"

New America Media New America Media (NAM) was a multimedia ethnic news agency and a coalition of ethnic media. Founded in 1996 by the nonprofit Pacific News Service, NAM was headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Los Angeles, New York and Washington, ...

, Commentary, August 18, 2011.

Current Leadership

The current executive council members are:

Charisse Burden Stelly Charisse is a feminine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Charisse Arrington, R&B singer who was signed to MCA Records in the 1990s * Charisse Anne Hernandez-Alcantara, Filipino politician * Charisse Jones, African American journa ...

- Parlimentarian, Sheena Harris-Membership Director,

Adam McNeil Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as ...

-Social Media Director, Cherisse Jones Branch-Southern Regional Director,

Siobhan Carter-David Siobhán is a female given name of Irish origin. The most common anglicisations are Siobhan (identical to the Irish spelling but omitting the acute accent over the 'a'), Shevaun and Shivaun. A now uncommon spelling variant is Siubhán. It is de ...

-Eastern Regional Director,

Erica Ball Erica or ERICA may refer to: * Erica (given name) * ''Erica'' (plant), a flowering plant genus * Erica (chatbot), a service of Bank of America * ''Erica'' (video game), a 2019 FMV video game * ''Erica'' (spider), a jumping spider genus * Eri ...

-Far Western Region Director, Elizabeth Todd-Breland-Midwestern Regional Director, Kali Gross-Creative Productions Director (ABWH-TV), Charlene Fletcher-National Publications Director, and

Tianna Wilson Tianna Bartoletta née Madison (born August 30, 1985) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the long jump and short sprinting events. She is a two-time Olympian with three gold medals. At the 2012 Summer Olympics she placed f ...

-Graduate Student Representative.

Awards

The Association of Black Women Historians honors work that women of African descent are doing in the community based on historical issues. They tend to acknowledge newer people in the history field and not only experts. A publication award is tilted Letitia Woods Brown Memorial Publication Award, and there are multiple "Awards for Academics in the History Field".
Lillian Hornsby Memorial Award

Drusilla Dunjee Houston Award
* Rosalyn Terborg-Penn Junior Faculty Award * Lorraine Anderson Williams Leadership Award

References

*Dagbovie, Pero Gaglo (2004). "Black Women Historians from the Late 19th Century to the Dawning of the Civil Rights Movement", ''

The Journal of African American History ''The Journal of African American History'', formerly ''The Journal of Negro History'' (1916–2001), is a quarterly academic journal covering African-American life and history. It was founded in 1916 by Carter G. Woodson. The journal is owned and ...

'', Volume 89, Number 3, Summer 2004, pp. 241–261.

Footnotes

{{Authority control 1979 establishments in Maryland African-American history of Montgomery County, Maryland African-American professional organizations African-American women's organizations History organizations based in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Maryland Organizations established in 1979 Professional associations for women Silver Spring, Maryland Women in Maryland Women's organizations based in the United States