CHAPTER X Helping the Mothers
Something about the Woman's Meeting, organised and conducted in the town of Tuskegee by Mrs. Washington, seems not out of place in this book. It is her work, and she has kindly supplied the following outline of the aims and results of this attempt to better the conditions and lives of the people living in this typical Alabama community:
In the spring of '92, the first Negro Conference for farmers was held at Tuskegee. The purpose of this conference was to inspire the masses of coloured people to secure homes of their own, to help them to better ways of living, to insist upon better educational advantages for them, and so to raise their standards of living, morally, physically, intellectually and financially. Sitting in that first meeting of Negro farmers and hearing the resolutions which stood as the platform of the conference, I felt that history was repeating itself. In the days of Lucretia Mott, and the early struggles of Susan B. Anthony, women had no rights that were worth mentioning, and, notwithstanding the fact that there were many women present at this first conference, they had little actual place in it.
Perhaps they did not realise that they, too, had a most prominent part to play in the life which their lovers, or their sons and husbands, were urged to seek. Perhaps they did not dream that they would some day have a vital part in the uplifting of our people. This thought would not be stilled: What can these poor farmers do with the new ideas, new hopes, new aspirations, unless the women can be equally inspired and interested in conferences of their own?
Not many days passed before there was a fixed purpose in my mind that these women in the homes represented by the farmers should be reached. How to reach and help them was the question. After many weary days and sleepless nights, praying for some way to open, the thought came that the village of Tuskegee was a good place to begin work. The country women, tired of the monotony of their lives, came crowding into the village every Saturday. There should be a place for them to go to be instructed for an hour or more each Saturday. Like a flash the idea was caught up, and it was not let go until such a place was secured.
Our first conference was held in the upper story of a very dilapidated store which stands on the main street of the village. The stairs were so rickety that we were often afraid to ascend them. The room was used by the coloured firemen of the village, and was a dark and dreary place, uninviting even to me. It answered our purpose for the time. We had no rent to pay, and that was one less burden for us. How to get the women to the first meeting was not easily settled. For fear of opposition from friends, no mention had been made of the plan, except to the man who let me have the room.
That first Saturday I walked up the stairs alone, and sat down in the room with all its utter dreariness. My heart almost failed me, and not until I remembered these words: "No man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God," did I throw off the despondency. At this moment a small boy entered the room. I said to him, "Go through the streets and say to each woman, so that no one else will hear you, there is a woman up those stairs who has something for you."
That first meeting I can never forget. There were six women who came, and each one as she looked at me seemed to say: "Where is it?" We talked it all over, the needs of our women, the best ways of helping each other, and there was begun the first woman's weekly conference, which now numbers nearly three hundred women.
We now have a large, roomy hall on the main street, where we come together each Saturday, and spend two hours talking of the things which go to make better and truer lives among women and children. Women come long distances on foot to these meetings. They soon brought with them their little girls, whom they could not afford to leave at home, and there arose a new question—what to do with the children? A plan was hit upon, and a room hired. These girls, now more than fifty in number, are taught simple lessons, and, at the same time, receive short practical talks on behaviour at home, on the streets and elsewhere. We also have a small library for them, and each one is allowed to draw the books she wants, to keep two weeks or longer. We also have picture books on the table for the younger children. We are now trying to get games for these children and pictures for the walls of the room. A friend gives two hours of her time on Saturday to these children, and it delights one's heart to see the improvement in them in all directions, especially in their quiet and becoming conduct on the streets.
The marked improvement among the women in the matter of dress has been frequently commented upon in the village. They are doing away with the wrapping of the hair, and substituting for it braiding or some other simple arrangement. The women no longer go barefooted, nor do they sit around the streets in a listless way. There is less familiarity among the men and women in the streets, and in many ways the women are being led into better ways of conduct, to say nothing of home improvements and the closer union of family life.
We visit the homes of the women and see that the lessons are put into practice. We have given out thousands of papers and picture cards, that the cracks might be closed against the wind and rain, and that the children of the home might have something besides the dark and cheerless logs to look at.
Soon the women began to see the importance of these conferences, and to do all in their power to promote their interests. Our talks were discussed on the farms and in neighbourhood chat. Their influence spread in indirect channels. These talks were planned along such simple and practical lines as the following subjects suggest:
Morals among young girls.
The kinds of amusements for young girls.
A mother's example.
A mother's duty to her home.
Dresses for women and children.
Poultry raising for women.
The part a woman should take in securing a home.
Fruit canning, etc.
Many other subjects were suggested by the women themselves, and afterward put in written form so that they could read them intelligently. Many of the talks were grouped in a little book for women who could not reach the conferences. These books contain also little recipes which any woman may need in her country home, especially when there is sickness in the family. Work for the masses is always more difficult than for the individual, but it is work which must be done. Eighty per cent. of our women have their homes in the country or on the plantations, they live in the old-time log cabins, but they have hearts, they have aspirations for the future. In pursuance of the ideas which prompted this humble crusade, I have sent out leaflets which embody, among others, these suggestions for teachers and other workers, which I have found exceedingly helpful in organising home-union meetings for mothers:
Decide upon a definite time for holding a meeting, and then send notice to the mothers by the school children.
Once every three or six months have a general meeting with simple refreshments such as can be gotten in a country village.
Now and then an experience meeting can be held to the advantage of all. Encourage the women to talk freely of their own plans.
Find out by judicious visiting whether any advancement is made.
Do not expect too much in a short time, and, above all, do not be dictatorial while visiting, or personal in meetings when you wish to deal with mistakes that you have seen in the homes visited.
Some Subjects for Talks
How to keep home neat and tidy.
How to make home attractive for husband and children.
Amusements, music and reading in the home circle.
Is it necessary to teach the girls to do good by teaching them how to do housework, cooking and sewing?
The relations of mothers to their children.
How to gain the confidence of children.
How to correct falsehood and theft among boys and girls.
Is there not a share in the home for the boys?
How to teach boys and men to respect women generally by teaching them to respect mothers and sisters.
The mother's authority in selecting company for her sons and daughters.
When should a girl be allowed to receive company? How can a mother help her to avoid mistakes as regards the young man she loves?
What part should a woman take with her husband in securing a home or a piece of land on which to build one?
What is the effect upon the face when the hair is wrapped with coloured strings? Why not plat it or arrange it in some other becoming way?
Should women go barefooted?
Love of gaudy dress for children. What will the result be when they are older and cannot afford to buy the same sort?
Manners on the street.
Necessity of varying diet for the household.
Economy in the house as regards food.
The proper duty of mothers in having the family table set with care at the proper time.
The importance of ventilation, proper food, and cleanliness of body on the moral atmosphere of the home.
What lessons can be drawn from Thanksgiving Day, New Year's and Christmas?
The mother's relation to the church and the minister.
How the family should go to church. Isn't it better if all go together and sit together, too?
How can boys and girls be taught the habit of giving to the church and charitable purposes?
How may mothers and their daughters best resist men who attempt to rob them of their honour and virtue?
The best way to inspire children to purity of thought, speech, and action, at home and abroad?
In a leaflet of practical help, for these mothers' meetings, some of the simple teachings are put in detail form, and these may give an idea of what we are trying to do in these directions, and what are the common needs of the people among whom we are working. Under the head of "Your Needs" are the following items:
You need chairs in your houses. Get boxes. Cover them with bright calico, and use them for seats until you can buy chairs. You need plates, knives and forks, spoons and table-cloths. Buy them with tobacco and snuff money.
You need more respect for self. Get it by staying away from street corners, depots, and, above all, excursions. You need to stay away from these excursions to keep out of bad company, out of court, out of jail, and out of the disgust of every self-respecting person.
You need more race pride. Cultivate this as you would your crops. It means a step forward. You need a good home. Save all you can. Get your own home, and that will bring you nearer citizenship. You can supply all these needs. When will you begin? Every moment of delay is loss.
How to Become Prosperous
Keep no more than one dog. Stay away from court. Buy no snuff, whisky and tobacco. Raise your own pork. Raise your own vegetables. Put away thirty cents for every dollar you spend.
Get a good supply of poultry. Set your hens.
Keep your chickens until they will bring a good price.
Go to town on Thursday instead of Saturday. Buy no more than you need.
Stay in town no longer than necessary.
My Daily Work
I may take in washing, but every day I promise myself that I will do certain work for my family. I will set the table for every meal. I will wash the dishes after every meal.
Monday I will do my family washing. I will put my bedclothes out to air. I will clean the food closet with hot water and soap.
Tuesday I will do my ironing and family patching.
Wednesday I will scrub my kitchen, and clean my yard thoroughly.
Thursday I will clean and air the meal and pork boxes. I will scour my pots and pans with soap and ashes.
Friday I will wash my dish-cloth, dish-towels, and hand-towels. I will sweep and dust my whole house, and clean everything thoroughly.
Saturday I will bake bread, cake, and do other extra cooking for Sunday. I will spend one hour in talking with my children, that I may know them better.
Sunday I will go to church and Sunday School. I will take my children with me. I will stay at home during the remainder of the day. I will try to read aloud a something helpful to all.
Questions I Will Pledge Myself to Answer at the End of the Year
How many bushels of potatoes, corn, beans, and peanuts have we raised this year?
How many hogs and cows do we keep? How much poultry have we raised? How many bales of cotton have we raised? How much have we saved to buy a home?
How much have we done toward planting flowers and making our yard look pretty? How many kinds of vegetables did we raise in our home garden?
How many times did we stay away from miscellaneous excursions when we wished to go? What were our reasons for staying at home? Have we helped our boys and girls to stay out of bad company? What paper have we taken, and have we taken our children to church and had them sit with us?
The experiment of real settlement work on a plantation near Tuskegee was begun in 1896 in a dilapidated, unused one-room cabin in the quarters of the "big house," where resided the last scion of a family of slave-holders.
Seventy-five families lived scattered in cabins over the two-thousand-acre plantation in easy access to their plots of land farmed on shares. Many of the men were paying for "time" bought by the owner of the plantation. Some had been arrested, and on trial found guilty. They had to pay either a certain sum or suffer imprisonment. The owner of the plantation paid the fines, and the men paid him for their time in labour. Schools were miles distant, and the only opportunity to teach the better way of life seemed to be establishing a settlement. The planter graciously granted the free use of the cabin aforesaid. Students from the Institute nailed the shingles on the open roof. The room was given a thorough cleaning, and in a short time a young woman graduate, now wife of the Principal of Christianburg Institute, Cambria, Virginia, and an undergraduate moved in with her home-made furniture—fashioned from dry-goods boxes, and covered with pretty chintz sent by an old friend who has now passed to her reward.
As a Sunday School had begun in one of the log houses several Sundays previous to the opening of the settlement, the young teacher's coming had been explained, and all had promised to contribute all they could to her support.
HOME-MADE FURNITURE
The first articles of food entered on the teacher's book to the credit of her patrons were two eggs, one can of syrup, one half-pound bacon, one quart meal, one can buttermilk. The teacher cooked her meals on her oven in the fireplace, did her work, and taught school in her cabin. The first day brought fifteen boys and girls. Ten of the fathers and mothers, eager to learn how to read and write, came to the night school. For two years the teacher struggled. Her patrons helped her with larder, and grew—measuring up to the standards of true living.
In spite of frequent patchings, the teacher's cabin became almost unfit for use. There came a time when umbrellas were indispensable in the cabin during a heavy downpour. In 1898 a way opened for the purchase of ten acres of woodland. A two-room cottage was built for the teacher on a clearing. No prouder workers could be found than the teacher and her pupils in clearing the land for possible crops. Beginning with 1900, the average annual yield was as follows: Two bales of cotton, forty bushels of corn, seventy-five bushels sweet potatoes, twenty bushels peanuts, twenty bushels pease, four loads shucks and fodder, greens, cabbage, and other vegetable products.
Two years ago a kitchen was added to the cottage, and the cooking classes of the school arose to the dignity of having a real stove and other necessaries. Sewing, cooking, gardening, and housekeeping classes have succeeded wonderfully. The boys of the settlement have received first prizes from Tuskegee Institute Agricultural Fair for their products put on exhibition.
One of the first fruits of the settlement work has been the promotion of a boy from that school to Tuskegee Institute. He has stood the test of four years in his classes, industrial and academic, and is now most promising.
The second step to place the work on a hopeful basis has been the purchase of ten more acres of land. A two-room cottage has been built recently, and the mother of the first settlement boy to come to the front, and one of our pioneer workers in the venture, has been given a chance to not only earn her living, but to serve as a native object-lesson of neatness in her home and surroundings. Eight years of constant work teaching old and young how to live has resulted in better built homes on the plantation. Owner has replaced one-room log cabins with two-room cottages.
House to house visits and the object-lesson of the settlement work have told for good in the matter of cleanliness. The marriage tie is respected. It is the exception rather than the rule to find unmarried mothers living with their children's fathers without even a sense of shame.
The barefoot boys and girls, men and women, who first attended the settlement Sunday School eight years ago, come neatly dressed. Men and women who could not read or write in the beginning of the work can read their Sunday School lessons and write a presentable note in a matter of business.
The Mothers' Union has brought the mothers to see the deep necessity of exerting their influence for good of home and people. The penny savings bank held by the teacher represents stockholders that mean to be owners of their own homes.
In the night school, the grown people, who are employed during the day, are taught the simple lessons which were neglected in their youth. At first many of them were ashamed to admit their ignorance. One young man, whom Mrs. Washington noticed during one of her visits as being particularly sullen when asked to join the class, has turned out to be one of the most ambitious pupils. "At first I was almost afraid to speak to him," she said, "but after I talked to him a little while, he broke down quite suddenly, and exclaimed:
"Oh, Mis' Washington! I'se so ashamed, I don't even know my letters." But it is the classes in cooking and cleaning and sewing which have been most successful, and these are responsible more than anything else for the change in the women.
From the outset, the white planters who employ most of the coloured families of the settlement have aided in the work. When Mrs. Washington first sent for permission to carry on some missionary work among his tenants, he sent a boy on a mule with a fat turkey, and a message for me to "come and do anything I liked." What seemed to be a discouragement at first was that occasionally a family moved away, thus causing the teacher to begin all over again, with a newcomer, the work which had been scarce finished with the old. Later she came to see that those who migrated served to spread the influence into other neighbourhoods, thus broadening the teachings far beyond her own limitations.