Chapter 6: “Sister Laborers”: African American Women, Cultural Capital,and Educational Philanthropy, 1865-1970

In 1899 Mamie Donohoo, a black church woman, published an article entitled “Woman as a Philanthropist,” in which she described the multidimensional philanthropic work of women. Donohoo stated that “To be a philanthropist one need not necessarily be a millionaire as we use the term, yet the heart must be an unceasing fountain sending forth streams of love, charity, and benevolence. It is her philanthropic heart that prompts her to acts of kindness and deeds of mercy.” Utilizing historical and biblical figures, Donohoo described an inclusive context that encompassed women’s service to the church and to society, a melange of benevolent acts and gifts, including monetary donations—all of which constituted an extensive base of overlooked community philanthropy. Emphasizing that women who engaged in reform work were philanthropists, Donohoocited the work of Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, and Ida Wells Barnett, the noted antilynching crusader. Stowe was described as “a fearless heroine” and one of the greatest philanthropists of the time, a woman whose writing impacted the nation and helped to bring an end to the institution of slavery. And Ida Wells Barnett was depicted by Donohoo as the foremost figure in leading a campaign “against mob violence,” which “kindled so great a flame in the rational world that the ruthless hands of prejudice and seething floods of superstition cannot quench it.”¹