On Thursday, March 30, 2023, at the close of Women’s History Month, the National Women’s History Museum’s (NWHM) inaugural in-person exhibition made its debut at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in downtown Washington, DC., We Who Believe in Freedom: Black Feminist DC, highlights Black women activists whose work in Washington, DC, influenced national policy from the turn of the 20th century through the civil rights and Black Power movements.
“Our inaugural exhibit explores the stories and voices of Black feminist organizers and theorists whose work changed the trajectory for the lives of millions—work that continues today and is often overlooked in history books,” said Susan D. Whiting, Board Chair, NWHM. “The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library is a beautiful venue to exhibit this important cultural content and, as a public building, ensures that the exhibit is accessible to all.”
The exhibit was curated by historians Dr. Sheri M. Randolph, an associate professor of history at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the co-director of the Black Feminist Think Tank, and Dr. Kendra T. Field, an associate professor of history and director of the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at Tufts University.
“There has never been an exhibit like this, focused primarily on Black feminists, thinkers, writers and activists,” Dr. Randolph said. “The question we as curators are often asked, is why is Black feminism important, and the answer is simple – why not. We cannot understand this current moment in activism, from the #MeToo movement to Black Lives Matter and even Kamala Harris and how she became Vice President, without understanding the Black feminists who stood in our past and are also part of this current movement.
“One Black feminist in particular is Pauli Murray, and she says this really important quote that really guided both of us through this project, ‘When my brothers try to draw a circle to exclude me, I shall draw a larger circle to include them,’” Dr. Randolph added. “Freedom for Black feminists always meant a larger circle, so welcome to this larger circle.”
The exhibition is a big deal, and the result of nearly three decades’ of work. It focuses on the stories and voices of more than twenty Black feminist organizers and theorists—including Anna Julia Cooper, Mary Church Terrell, Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Loretta Ross—whose work changed the trajectory of the lives of millions of Black women in the DC community and across the country. Despite their significant contributions, many remain largely unknown to the public.
Pauli Murray, for example, graduated from Howard University School of Law in 1942 and coined the term “Jane Crow” to describe Black women’s experiences of racism and sexism. Murray’s legal ideas informed Brown v. Board of Education, Title IX of the Civil Rights Act, Reed v. Reed, which ruled that gender discrimination is unconstitutional, and other landmark Supreme Court decisions and important Congressional legislation.
“In the decades after general emancipation, DC became an incredibly important destination for freedom’s first generation,” Dr. Field said. “Tens of thousands of formerly enslaved 
women and their daughters migrated to DC to chart a freer life. Born during the last years of racial slavery in the U.S., women like Anna Julia Cooper and Mary Church Terrell migrated to DC and emerged as leading Black feminist educators, activists, and theorists. They built and organized the local and national Black women’s club movement and laid important groundwork for generations of Black feminists. It has been an honor to contribute to this important exhibit.”
Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), a subject in the exhibition, was also on hand for the kickoff, and she shared some of her own history. She has served as congresswoman for the District of Columbia since 1991 and has made a tremendous impact. She came to Congress as a national figure who had been a civil rights and feminist leader, tenured professor of law, and board member at three Fortune 500 companies. The Congresswoman’s work for full congressional voting representation and for full democracy for the people of the District of Columbia continues, as does her lifelong struggle for universal human and civil rights.
Dr. Nancy agrees, saying, “The struggle for civil and human rights for all Americans has been the central theme of my own professional life.” She has long advocated the importance of sharing women’s history and feels these are the stories that need to be told. Through her Family Foundation and Women Connect4Good, she joined the NWHM board and mission, and stepped up as a founding investor. It is her hope, and that of NWHM, that this exhibition – and the unique partnership between the NWHM and DC Public Library at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library – will be the first of many. The museum plans to work in communities across the nation to uncover local women’s history and build sustainable and scalable programming and exhibitions housed in local libraries, cultural institutions, and community gathering spaces.
“Black feminists have not been recognized for their important work in securing rights for all women, and for the things they have done to lift all women up. Black women, all women, need to see themselves as a part of history, while also recognizing that equity and equality in our country is still lacking. The important issues that many of these Black feminists fought for still exist and this exhibition creates awareness around the importance of Black feminists and their mission while also highlighting the work that needs to be done,” Dr. Nancy said. “The Equal Pay and Equal Rights Amendments are two immediate things that come to mind. Ultimately, we will not eliminate our country’s problems until we come together and treat one another with respect and appreciation. This exhibition reminds us of this and inspires us to carry on. We are all in this together, and together all things are possible.”
We Who Believe in Freedom: Black Feminist DC will be open and free to the public through September 2024, and was made possible by founding investors: AARP Foundation, ArentFox Schiff, Jon S. and Kerrie Bouker, Chicago Pacific Founders, Mari Snyder Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, Morgan Stanley, Dr. Nancy O’Reilly, Silver Mountain Foundation for the Arts, Meryl Streep, Mary Tolan, Susan D. Whiting, and the Women Connect4Good Foundation. A companion website with more information about Black Feminist DC is available here. To learn more visit NWHM at www.womenshistory.org.