Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1782

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

. 21 linear feet (1 box)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Susan J. Blockson material on Pennsylvania State Federation of Negro Women's Clubs, 1940-1949, Ms. Coll. 1782, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1940-1949 (inclusive)

Creator:

Blockson, Susan J. (Susan Jason), 1894-1988

Form:

Bylaws (administrative records), Constitutions, Correspondence, and Minutes (administrative records)

Abstract:

This collection contains correspondence, membership lists, minutes, constitutions, bylaws, and a photograph of Susan J. Blockson relating to her tenure as president of the Pennsylvania State Federation of Negro Women's Clubs, 1945-1949.

The Pennsylvania State Federation of Negro Women's Clubs was organized in 1903 to unite Black women's clubs across the state of Pennsylvania. According to the Federation's constitution, the mandate of the Federation was to "encourage education, to elevate our homes and to uplift the race in general." The mandate to educate was realized through an educational symposium and scholarship fund. Membership in the Federation was open to all clubs of women and girls that supported and worked in harmony with its objective.

The Federation was an affiliate of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), which was organized in 1896. The NACW served as a national umbrella organization, uniting regional, state and local clubs across the country under a single national entity. The NACW created a powerful national network for professional collaboration and activism for Black women across the country.

Susan J. Blockson was elected president of the Federation in 1945 and served through 1949.

Blockson was born Mary Susanna Jason on February 24, 1894, in Hockessin, Delaware to Howard Talbot Jason (1867-1955) and Lena Bertha Wright Jason (1868-1940). She was raised in Corozal, Puerto Rico, where her father served as a missionary. She graduated from Delaware State University in 1913 and returned to Puerto Rico to teach school. She returned to the United States to marry Ellis A. Blockson (1888-1970) on August 5, 1920 and settled in Sewickley, Pennsylvania.

She stopped teaching upon her marriage but became heavily involved in her community. She was active in numerous clubs and organizations, including the Hawthorn Club; American Legion Women's Auxiliary to the Walter Robinson Post 450; City-County Federation of Negro Women's Clubs, National Association of Colored Women; and the Sewickley Council of Church Women. She also taught private Spanish classes as part of the Latin-American club and was very active in her church, St. Matthew AME Zion Church.

Susan J. Blockson died in 1988.

This collection contains memos and correspondence sent to and from Blockson during her tenure as president of the Pennsylvania State Federation of Negro Women's Clubs (PSFNWC) from 1945 to 1949. The materials include resolutions, meeting plans and announcements, and a statement of postwar objectives advocating for issues such as employment opportunities for women based on ability rather than restriction, the elimination of lynching and Jim Crow laws, and improved housing, healthcare, and educational resources for all people. Although these social and political priorities are represented in the collection, the majority of the materials document the routine administrative activities of the organization.

The collection also includes the PSFNWC's constitution and bylaws, as well as the constitution and bylaws for the National Association of Colored Women, which is heavily annotated with Blockson's handwritten notes. Additional records document legislative initiatives, youth programming, membership lists, committee and conference activities, and the official proceedings of the 1949 state convention.

Also included are three small, typed notecards prepared by Blockson encouraging club members to keep a record of activities in preparation for convention reports, and a photograph of Blockson.