Black Baptist women first contested male convention unity claims by organizing separately

Evidence

Women members of the male-dominated American National Baptist Convention, forerunner of the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., were the first to question the illusory unity of the convention as the voice of all its people. Within this national body, Virginia Broughton of Tennessee and Mary Cook and Lucy Wilmot Smith of Kentucky were the most vocal in defense of women’s rights. Broughton, Cook, and Smith were active in organizing separate Baptist women’s conventions in the face of varying levels of male support and hostility. They spoke for an expanding public of women who stood in opposition to exclusive male power and dominance. — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent, 580

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Black Baptist women’s state conventions were fully self-governing, male-excluding organizations — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 363; Male denominational leaders tried to subordinate autonomous black women’s organizations — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 738; Separate female institutions gave black Baptist women greater authority — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 389 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Separate female institutions gave black Baptist women greater authority #expands (0.90) — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent, 389
• Male denominational leaders tried to subordinate autonomous black women’s organizations #responds-to (0.82) — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent, 738
• Black Baptist women faced pulpit and voice denial even among supportive male leaders #qualifies (0.74) — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent, 340