Black Baptist women’s state conventions were fully self-governing, male-excluding organizations

Evidence

Conventions sought to represent women in every black Baptist church in a state, and thus the annual membership dues, usually one dollar per person, provided the organization’s financial base. Each women’s state convention met annually and, usually, on the same date and in the same vicinity as the annual meeting of the male-led state convention. Meeting places rotated within a state. Individual churches selected delegates, who attended the annual meetings. Each state convention executed its work through committees on education, nominations, new societies, greetings, temperance, social service, obituary, finance, and children’s groups.” Women’s conventions controlled their own budgets and determined the allocation of funds. They explicitly denied male participation in any role other than “honorary member.” The constitution drafted by the Baptist women of Alabama typified most others in stipulating that “no society shall send a male member to the convention; none but women shall be allowed to vote or hold office.” — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent, 363

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Black Baptist women first contested male convention unity claims by organizing separately — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 580; Separate female institutions gave black Baptist women greater authority — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 389; Black Baptist women guarded their institutional autonomy against male intrusion — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 363 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Black Baptist women guarded their institutional autonomy against male intrusion #corroborates (0.92) — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent, 363
• Separate female institutions gave black Baptist women greater authority #corroborates (0.90) — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent, 389
• Black Baptist women first contested male convention unity claims by organizing separately #expands (0.88) — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent, 580