Summary Of In Union There Is Strength By Mary Church Terrell

While reading Mary Church Terrell’s “In Union There is Strength,” the first time through, I noticed the paragraphs were divided into multiple sections, like almost designated sections. There was an African American children section, African American youth section, and African American female section. None of these paragraphs really bled together or dipped into another group. I did pick up one group of people were missing a paragraph: males. I do not think was an accident on Terrell’s doing, she did this on purpose.

I found this very methodical on Mary Terrell’s part because when I reflected on previous pieces we have studied, I noticed that most of them were geared towards the entire African American race or specifically men. She created a

White America was already painting the picture of what life for women: housewives. Terrell encourages African American women that they can be just a great of mother as the woman of the “dominant race” and more if they teach their children values and morals. She states, “If the women of the dominant race with all the centuries of education. refinement, and culture back of them, with all their wealth of opportunity ever present with them, if these women felt a responsibility to call a Mother's Congress that they might be ever enlightened as to the best methods of rearing children and conducting their homes, how much more do the women of our race from whom the shackles of slavery have just fallen need information on the same subjects? Let us have Mother Congresses in every community in which our women can be counseled. The necessity of increasing the self respect of our children is important (p. 3-4).” When I read through the text the first time, I had to look up what the “Mother Congress” was, but after the fact the article made a little more sense to me. The reason why the article was targeted towards women, children, and youth is because the Mothers Congress was the original PTA of

I was confused why she was focused on free Kindergarten, but this text was about educational injustices for African American children. This text served as a reminder that I take for granted opportunities that once were not granted to everyone. I think White America focuses in on certain aspects of the African American oppression and then just blocks out the rest of characteristics. It is like we are conditioned to think that once African Americans were no longer enslaved that they were equal to everyone else, but this text was a grim reminder that was not the