“Lifting as We Climb” Banner

1924

This purple silk banner, used by the Oklahoma Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, features the motto of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW). Founded in 1896, the NACW represented a coalition of state and local organizations and was part of a nationwide women’s club movement during the late 1800s. Many Black club women, including the NACW’s founders, viewed their mission as “racial uplift,” and worked to improve African Americans' social, economic, and political status through education, work, community service, and activism.