Women’s organizational self-determination existed within the denomination alongside male boards

Evidence

While supportive of the programs of the NBC’s boards, the Woman’s Convention held tight control over its own finances, programs, and leaders. This control often caused tension between the men and women, but the precedent for women’s self-determination was established in the WC’s institutional structure and national officers: Sarah Willie Layten of Philadelphia, president; Sylvia C. — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent, 726

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Women’s church societies peaked then declined when merged with male-run groups — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 429; Women’s church-based organizing pursued separate spaces while remaining dependent on male approval — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 701; Women’s first institutional projects bankrolled the very male board that had championed them. — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent: The Women’s…, 721 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Black Baptist women’s state conventions were fully self-governing, male-excluding organizations #expands (0.90) — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent, 363
• Black Baptist women guarded their institutional autonomy against male intrusion #expands (0.88) — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent, 363
• Male denominational leaders tried to subordinate autonomous black women’s organizations #complicates (0.85) — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent, 738
• Women’s organizations competed for prestige with male bodies on equal symbolic footing #expands (0.85) — Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Righteous Discontent, 736