ABOUT | gbsncnw

History of the Greater Boston Section

The origin story of the Greater Boston Section begins in 1991 with two women in the Greater Boston area who were involved in social activism, volunteering, mentoring, and motivating young people—Esther Pearson and Carolyn Grey. Dr. Pearson, mathematician, technologist, and educator, was establishing a program at Northeastern University and wanted to name it the Mary Mcleod Bethune Institute.

She placed a call to Bethune Cookman college and was told yes, she could, but was there a section of the National Council of Negro Women in the Boston area. There was not. To start a section there needed to be three programs in the community and 50 members. Dr. Pearson talked about this at her church, St. John’s Baptist in Woburn. Fellow church member Carolyn Grey was interested. She volunteered to organize the section. Not surprising. Carolyn Grey, an educator, had been volunteering in the community for years. Also, years earlier she was a member of a section of NCNW in Scotch Plains, New Jersey. She was one of the younger members back then and had many fond memories of learning so much from the more mature women and she enjoyed volunteering for the important work being done in that community.

So, the Mary Mcleod Bethune Institute, an educational program focused on preparing young black girls for careers, was one program. Another program was at a correctional facility. It was a monthly book meeting in which books were donated and discussed with female prisoners. The STEPS program, which stands for science, technology, engineering, and pre-engineering program studies, established by Dr. Pearson, was the third.

Carolyn Grey had no trouble getting members to join. It only took a month or two to have the 50 members to start a section. She filled out the paperwork and in January 1992, the Greater Boston Section of NCNW was officially established. The first meeting was held at St John’s Baptist Church, as were many meetings after that. Meetings were also held in members’ homes. In the early years the national office had a strong relationship with the United Nations. Members of the Greater Boston section were among those who went to Beijing and also to Egypt representing NCNW at United Nations meetings there.

People from all walks of life have joined our section. Some have transferred from other parts of the country. Some had mothers, aunts, sisters, grandmothers who were members of a section or an affiliate organization. Regardless of how we came to be members, our purpose has remained the same: to lead, advocate for and empower, women of African descent, their families, and the community.

History of NCNW

In 1935, educator and political activist, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, convened the leaders of 28 national women’s organizations and founded the National Council of Negro Women in New York City. NCNW was known as an “organization of organizations” to represent national and international concerns of Black women. NCNW fought for jobs, the right to vote and anti-lynching legislation. It gave Black women the opportunity to realize their goals for social justice and human rights through united, constructive action. NCNW has committed itself to fulfill the ideals of Dr. Bethune who had a vision to leave a lasting legacy of leadership and service to her community. NCNW is now comprised of 37 national affiliate organizations, over 200 community and campus-based sections and thousands of individual members.

In the Spring of 2017, at our national headquarters in Washington, D.C. as well as here in Boston, our fourth national president of NCNW, the illustrious Dr. Dorothy Irene Height was recognized with a United States Postal stamp as a part of the Black Heritage Series. Dr. Height was one of the key figures in the struggle for school desegregation, voting rights, employment opportunities and public accommodations. She served the organization for over six decades.

This year, the Greater Boston Section of the National Council of Negro Women celebrates 27 years of service. We have come a long way since our Sister and Founder, Minister Carolyn Grey decided to organize a branch of the national organization.

Since 1992, with a focus on education, the Greater Boston Section has supported many programs such as the Mary McLeod Bethune Institute for young women, a summer Math and Science camp for children and The City Strings group which teaches young people the art of playing stringed instruments. Health, entrepreneurial and other initiatives have included sponsorship of healthy eating workshops, promoting women in business, conducting voter registration drives, supporting

incarcerated women and refurbishing and shipping computers to women within the African Diaspora.

Looking Ahead

As a part of our Education Initiative, GBS-NCNW sponsored our annual Career Awareness Day for Teens on November 16, 2019 and for the Spring of 2020, we are planning our Funding Your Education Seminar. We will continue to provide toiletries and bags to women in shelters through our Share-the-Love Program as well as contribute monthly to a food pantry in Roxbury. Our program to encourage voter registration and participation in the 2020 Census Forum is in the planning stages and will be held on February 15, 2020. We are also excited to be planning our biennial Women of Courage and Conviction Awards Luncheon which we will host on April 4, 2020. As we continue to face tremendous social and economic challenges, our efforts on behalf of women and children remain as urgent and important as ever.