The National Council of Negro Women

1961

Founded by Mary McLeod Bethune in 1935, the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) expanded on the original mission of the National Association of Colored Women by uniting and channeling the activities of women’s organizations across the country. Under the leadership of Bethune and her successors, including Dorothy Height, the NCNW empowered Black women to work for social justice on multiple fronts, from grassroots to national and international campaigns. During the 1960s, the NCNW increased its outreach through programs such as Project Womanpower, which recruited and trained 6,000 women to serve as community activists.