Carrie Williams Clifford

Born in Chillicothe, Ohio and raised and educated in the state, Clifford left the state to teach in Parkersburg, West Virginia, for three years. In 1886, she returned to Cleveland, Ohio, married Ohio state legislator William H. Clifford, and became an engaged clubwoman. Political work While living in Cleveland, Clifford founded the Minerva Reading Club, which discussed current social problems. Her work as the assistant recording secretary for the National Association of Colored Women led her to found the Ohio Federation of Colored Women's Clubs in 1901. At his request, Clifford helped organize a women's auxiliary within the Niagara Movement and succeeded in recruiting a large number of female delegates for the 1907 Niagara Movement meeting in Boston. Once she moved to Washington, D.C., she hosted regular Sunday evening gatherings, frequented by DuBois and other black activists involved in the Harlem Renaissance like Mary Church Terrell. When the NAACP grew out of the Niagara Movement, Clifford transitioned into the new organization, serving on the central leadership committee and as a leader of the group's work on children's issues. She worked with other prominent black activist women, including Mary Church Terrell and Addie D. Waites Hunton, on this issue and others, including lynching. Clifford's anti-lynching work involved helping organize a Silent Parade in Washington, D.C., in 1922 and meeting with President William Taft to show the NAACP's support for anti-lynching reforms. Beyond her work for the NAACP, Clifford was also a frequent lecturer, speaking on issues related to politics and race. == Writing ==

Clifford wrote two books of poetry, Race Rhymes (1911) and The Widening Light (1922), the first of which she dedicated to her mother and the second of which she dedicated to her race. She wrote in the preface of Race Rhymes that the common theme of the poems is "the uplift of humanity" and that she hoped her poems would "change some evil heart, right some wrong and raise some arm strong to deliver." In her essay "Votes for Children," published in the NAACP paper The Crisis, Clifford argued in favor of women's enfranchisement as a way of protecting children and the family. Clifford also contributed to the women's section of the Cleveland Journal as its editor. Beyond being the organization's president, Clifford further contributed to the Ohio Federation of Colored Women's Clubs by editing their recurring publication and an essay collection. ==Works==

Books • Race Rhymes, Printed by R. L. Pendleton, Washington, D.C.: 1911. Poems • "Brothers." Opportunity. 1925 • "Lines to Garrison." ''Alexander's Magazine'' 1 (1906–1907): 8–9. • "Love’s Way (A Christmas Story)." ''Alexander's Magazine'' 1 (1906–1907): 55–58. Essays • "Cleveland and its Colored People" (1905) • "Votes for Children" (August 1915), The Crisis 10: 185 ==See also==