THE FEDERATION JOURNAL
Spring, 1959
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Continued from Page 5
Accepting an invitation extend
ed by Mrs. A. B. Newsome of
Ahoskie to attend the meeting of
the Woman’s Club there certain
ly afforded great pleasure. Rep
resentatives from other clubs in
the city and several surrounding
cities attended the meeting. Ac
quainting them with the objectives
of our Federation with the aid of
Mrs. F. T. Newsome seemed to
arouse the interest of many who
are members of nonfederated
clubs. The fellowship hour which
followed is to be added to other
pleasant occasions during the year.
That my friends brings us to
more consideration of celebrating
the Fiftieth Anniversary of our
State Federation. What a privilege
is ours to reap the benefits of those
who labored before us! Fifty years
of continuous “Lifting as we
Climb” has meant enduring hard
ships yet ever looking upward to
accomplish so much. No tribute is
too high to pay the pioneers of our
organization. We are following in
their foot steps and have an op
portunity to continue looking up
and living up to our motto.
As aforementioned our Fiftieth
Anniversary Celebration will be
gin with a well planned banquet
and program on May 14 with Mrs.
Vivian Mason as guest speaker.
More details will be given from
time to time. Plan now to attend
the banquet and invite your
friends to join you.
Business sessions of the annual
meeting will follow the usual pat
tern with reports from the different
officers. An added feature for this
year is to be the presentation of
constructive reports by newly
formed special committees. At
tempting to do this not only pro
vides participation on the part of
a large number of club ladies but
will make us feel more a part of
the National and Southeastern As
sociations which also have stand
ing committees.
Realizing the importance of
strengthening work in Junior Clubs
has led to the forming of a board
with Mrs. Lucille Albright as
chairman. I urge you to do your
best to arouse young ladies in
your community to ban themselves
together and with your cooperation
strive toward higher things.
Though we rejoice at this our
Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration
we must still keep in mind the
fact that many young ladies are de
pendent upon us for scholarships
made possible only through your
club contribution. Plan now to in
crease your amount given last
year, please if we are to meet
the demand made upon us.
It is not possible for us of our
own volition to close our eyes long
enough to realize what it means to
the blind to be without visual con
tacts with the incidents around
them. We can however use our
ANNIVERSARY
Continued from Page 1
Club members and friends invit
ed—tickets $2.00 each. Many in
teresting features of Banquet in
clude a very distinguished guest
speaker, Mrs. Vivian Mason of Nor
folk, Virginia.
2. Host Public Program on Fri
day night. May 15th, 7:30 p.m.
Distinguished African guest speak
er as well as local talent of Wil
son and Federation officials on the
program.
3. The convention is called to or
der Friday morning. May 15th with
devotions — greetings—President’s
message and usual routine busi
ness.
Reports of Special Standing Com
mittee in line with National As
sociation Program will be heard
on Friday afternoon and Saturday
morning.
Club reports will also be heard
on Friday afternoon and Saturday
morning, with special time given
to new clubs.
“Youth Hour” for the whole con
vention will be Saturday, May 16
from 12:00 to 1:00. The Junior
Federation members will hold
their convention sessions on Sat
urday, May 16th under the watch
ful eyes of their adult board of di
rectors—organizers—and club lead
ers.
The convention closes Saturday
afternoon on completion of the last
business session that begins at 1:30
p.m.
One of the most outstanding
features of the 50th Celebration
will be the distribution of a beau
tiful Souvenir Program for the
token sum of 50 cents a copy—it
will contain the history of our or
ganization—picture stories of aU
projects and activities over the 50
year period—pictures and facts of
pioneers the state over—letters of
congratulations from N. C. officials
and too many other items to list.
The Federation’s first Scrap
Book 16x22 will be on display
throughout the convention. It will
be indexed as follows—National—
State and Districts. If you have
anything to contribute to the Scrap
Book, please forward it to the
editor as soon as possible.
imagination, sympathize with them
and support the publication of the
Braille Magazine which in a meas
ure helps them keep pace with
current events.
All in all may we look forward
to making this our Fiftieth An
niversary Celebration far more
meaningful than all other Annual
Meetings. Such is possible only if
each of you will do your part. It is
my wish to see you at Wilson
Your President
E. Mocile Spellman
May 14-16.
YESTERDAY
Continued from Page 1
Americans to leave the old paths
and strike out boldly for the new.
That was the spirit that led the
founders, and you today, into this
movement of social betterment.
These noble women who founded
the North Carolina Federation of
Negro Women’s Clubs, and those
who followed, reflected the Ameri
can tradition and spirit—pushing
toward a new frontier. A frontier
which had as its goals the rehabili
tation of young women who be
came involved in trouble and the
improvement of the social, eco
nomic, and cultural conditions,
among Negroes, in North Carolina.
They stand with some of America’s
great leaders and statesmen—with
Frederick Douglass, who said,
“Those who profess to favor free
dom and yet depreciate agitation
are men who want crops without
plowing up the ground, who want
rain without thunder and lightning,
who want the ocean without the
roar of its many waters.” They
also stand with Abraham Lincoln,
who said, “This nation with its in
stitutions belongs to the people who
inhabit it. We may nobly save or
meanly lose the last best hope of
the earth.” They said as Franklin
D. Roosevelt, “Thank God, we are
young enough in spirit to dream
dreams and see visions; to believe
that one day a generation may pos
sess this land beyond anything we
know now.”
An examination of the past his
tory of this organization is reveal
ing. The glories and achievements
of the past are known to many in
dividuals throughout the state and
nation.
The most obvious thing about
the Federation is the leadership
and pioneering it has provided. The
members of this organization were
the first to call to the attention of
the public the need for an institu
tion for delinquent girls. With
their motto “Lifting As We Climb”
for inspiration and a rallying sym
bol they raised funds, purchased
land, constructed a building, and
operated the first institution for
the training of Negro girls.
The pioneer work in other areas
was equally important. It was the
officers and members of this or
ganization which spearheaded a
movement to improve the facilities
and programs at Morrison Train
ing School for Boys and the Or
phanage for Colored Children at
Oxford. The full support of the
group was thrown behind the effort
to secure a state supported insti
tution for mentally retarded Negro
children.
The Federation not only sup
ported programs and movements
to secure, expand, and improve in
stitutions or facilities for children
and youth, it has and continues to
contribute to the welfare of boys
and girls in them. Along with these
activities, the organization initiat
ed a scholarship program to pro
vide financial aid to young women
to continue their college education
in several areas.
In every community of this state
where there are clubs or a federa
tion of local clubs affiliated with
the state organization, there are
to be found activities aimed at
improving living conditions. Day
nurseries, school lunches for under
privileged children, scholarships
aid and many other civic, fratern
al, religious and cultural activities
are supported and carried on by
members of the Federation in their
respective communities.
So much for the past, it has been
a glorious past. It is important,
however, as it is reflected in the
present. The past may be a deaden
influence if you take refuge in its
achievements. It may be a frus
trating influence if you look at it
and think it was impossible to
achieve what has been achieved
in the past. Finally, the past may
be a stimulating past, if it can act
to spur you on—to make you re
solve that the present must be
worthy of its heritage. From the
work, deeds, and enthusiasm of
the present members, it is safe to
assume that the past has been a
stimulus. You should be convinced
that you are the inheritors of
something very precious and it is
your responsibility not to let the
past down, but rather to continue
to make the present and future of
the Federation worthy of the past
that it has inherited.
It is probably more difficult to
speak of events of today than those
of yesterday. It is partly because
you do not have the perspective on
them that you have on those of
the past. You should have a sense
of pride in what you are currently
doing for the state organization
and in your local communities.
Today, as you look back over the
past, the record reveals that you
have made progress and achieved
much in many areas. This is in
dicative of the fact that you are
worthy of the past. This has not
kept you from making changes to
make your program or activities
better fitted to meet the needs of
the members of the organization
and those whom you serve today.
You have discarded part of the
past only to reincorporate it in
new forms. Through it all you can
say with conviction that the spirit
of the past—the spirit that nothing
was good enough for the program
and members of the Federation—
is constantly with you. You have
probably found that the strengths
of today are different from the
strengths of yesterday. The
strengths of today rest on the in
dividual members learning to work
together as a team; members who
are concerned not only with the
activities or programs of their own
clubs or community, but with the
total program of the state organi-