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Article Excerpt
This article examines efforts made to challenge progress towards adequate service provision for delinquent African American girls in early 20th century North Carolina. This article seeks to explore the nuances of aid, from the African American community and by progressive whites, as it relates to legislative efforts, economic backing and public health issues. It also seeks to examine motivations for engaging in undermining activities.
Keywords: African American girls; female delinquency; juvenile justice; legislative efforts; Progressive Era; syphilis
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African American women were instrumental in developing social welfare services for African American girls as a means to uplift the race, and more specifically, as a means to protect "true Black womanhood". Through the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), these women united to formalize social welfare services to meet the needs of the community. They established orphanages, old age homes, kindergartens, homes for working girls, homes for wayward girls, as well as other programs (DuBois, 1898; Hodges, 2001; Lerner, 1974; Salem, 1994). These clubwomen provided services (e.g. literary clubs, mother's clubs, religious studies) to the African American community through women's and girl's clubs. They also provided activities for boys (e.g. literary clubs, supervised sports activities) as a means of protecting young girls (Carlton-LaNey, 1999).
African American clubwomen were keenly aware of the negative perceptions that whites had of them. They were indefatigable in their efforts to improve the image of the race through the social uplift of its weakest elements, particularly delinquent African American girls. This quest for uplift motivated them to provide educational services, multilayered social welfare services, and refinement activities designed to teach social graces to those of the lower classes ("Charlotte Eugenia Hawkins Brown Papers, 1883-1961,"; Gilmore, 1994; Hodges, 2001; Hunter, 1983).
During the early 20th century, North Carolina's African American clubwomen gained support from the African American community and from progressive whites as they sought to meet the increasing needs of delinquent African American girls. Despite the semblance of aid, these women also battled elements that worked against their efforts. According to Carlton-LaNey (1994), this was a common occurrence. In examining Birdye Haynes' pioneering settlement house work, Carlton-LaNey found that Haynes was required to be diplomatic, tactful, and reticent as she interacted with the professionals, educators, advisory boards, and clients who were all key players in demanding success, yet they expected failure. At the same time, as a middle-class professional, she was expected "to inspire and share training and experiences" (p. 269).
Social welfare work among African American women required a skillful balancing act between interracial cooperation and commitment to the community.
African American women have historically been accustomed to concerted efforts to weaken their child-saving efforts, particularly as they touch upon the sometimes conflicting agendas of gender and race (Lerner, 1972). Whites were not willing to openly address race issues due to the social and political customs of the era. Likewise, men were not willing to openly address gender issues. African American women, however, were concerned with issues of race and gender. Yet, loyalty to both race and gender issues threatened notions of white privilege and male privilege (Beale, 1970; Cooper, 1892; Lewis, 1977). While there were those who acknowledged the disparate situation of delinquent African American girls, the level of aid was dependent upon their willingness to relinquish some aspect of their own privilege. As a result, there was a 'comfortable level' of backing manifested through positive action towards these delinquent girls. However, beyond that comfort zone, a seemingly contradictory level of assistance was manifested.
This article seeks to examine these undermining efforts as they relate to the inmates at Efland Home for Girls. Further, this article will provide evidence of efforts to thwart progress in the African American and white communities as they relate to the provision of comprehensive services to delinquent African American girls in North Carolina. Finally, this article will explore this phenomenon regarding legislative, economic, and public health efforts, as well as general attitudes towards delinquency among African American girls, and the efforts of African American clubwomen to meet the needs of this population.
Efland Home for Girls
The North Carolina Federation of Negro Women (NCFNW) founded the North Carolina Industrial Home for Colored Girls, also known as the Efland Home for Girls, in 1921. These clubwomen were motivated by the state of North Carolina's gross neglect of delinquent African American girls. They were also motivated by the desire to save African American womanhood. One clubwoman wrote, "As mothers and sisters, we want to save the young colored girls who are going astray" (Brown, 1920). Efland Home served as that facility by which to save the delinquent African American girl.
Efland Home was a frame cottage with nine rooms and a fully equipped kitchen, located on 147 acres of land, in Efland, Orange County, North Carolina. This facility housed approximately 22 residents, ages six to sixteen years of age. The facility was governed by a Board of Trustees made up of seven to thirteen influential, predominantly African American, clubwomen representing various regions of the state. Efland Home was staffed by a superintendent, a matron, up to two teachers, and a farm supervisor. The board required that the superintendent be a trained social worker, which was a significant request because there were only thirteen professionally trained African American social workers in the state during this time (Crow, Escott, & Hatley, 1992).
There was a straightforward referral process. Candidates deemed 'problems in their communities', particularly those described as having 'immoral characteristics' were referred to the home by a number of sources, including the North Carolina Board of Charities and Public Welfare (the state child welfare agency), county juvenile court systems, Efland's Board of Trustees, and community members. The referral source submitted a written application to the board. If the applicant was deemed suitable by the board, the child welfare agency petitioned the county juvenile courts for commitment orders to Efland Home. The applicant was then admitted to Efland Home as a parolee of the juvenile court system. Residents of Efland Home were referred to as inmates (North Carolina Board of Public Welfare-Institutions and Corrections, 1920-1939).
The plight of delinquent African American girls
Efland Home was a necessary facility in the state. Between 1919 and 1939, North Carolina's juvenile courts handled approximately 192 cases annually involving African American girls. Efland Home was the only facility for delinquent African American girls in the state of North Carolina. It was privately run and funded, receiving a meager stipend from the state. Although at the inception of the home the state adequately funded facilities for delinquent boys of both races, and for white girls, it did not fund a facility for African American girls until 1943. Efland Home provided a second chance for African American girls to lead a productive and meaningful life.
From the...
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