When 12 Women Became 250: A Story of Rediscovered History

Have you ever wondered about the invisible architects of your community? The women who shaped history without fanfare or recognition? My powerful journey reveals how a simple plan to honor her mother transformed into a mission to celebrate over 250 Black women who built Raleigh, North Carolina, since the 1800s.

What began as a modest reception for her mother became something far more profound when a friend challenged me: "Make a statement. Honor 125 women." Initially doubtful, I could identify so many Black women of achievement in Raleigh alone, and I soon unearthed a treasure trove of hidden history. My research revealed generations of Black women who served on committees, created businesses, became highly educated educators, and provided the essential foundation for community progress—all while remaining largely unacknowledged beyond their obituaries.

I share a revealing story about my mother's political journey. When running for the school board, my mother was asked by Black men to step aside to ensure a male candidate's victory. She refused, ran anyway, and won, bringing her crucial K-12 teaching perspective to a board dominated by business professionals. After her tenure ended, Raleigh waited 25 years before again having two Black representatives simultaneously serving on the school board. Now, I am organizing a dinner where men will serve and celebrate these women, acknowledging how Black women have "undergirded everything that Black men have done"—echoing progressive sentiments found in a newspaper from 1867 that recognized women's critical community roles. This event honors both 195 "elders and legends" alongside 50 younger women carrying forward their legacy.

Ready to discover the unsung heroines in your own community? Connect with Carmen at www.carmencoffin.com and join the movement to ensure these vital contributions are remembered and celebrated. Because after generations of silence, we won't be quiet anymore.

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Carmen Wimberley Cauthen is an author, speaker, and lover of history, Black history in particular. As a truth teller, she delights in finding the hidden truths about the lives of people who made a difference - whether they were unknown icons or regular everyday people.

To Learn more of Carmen:
www.carmencauthen.com
www.researchandresource.com

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Unseen, unheard.
We've lived like that far toolong.
I'm Carmen Coffin and this isQuiet, no More.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
So we've been talking about honor and respect and I
just wanted to ask you aquestion what did the women in
your community do?
How have they been honored?
I realized when I was makingthe decision to honor my mother,
I was just going to do a smallreception or something for her

(00:49):
and I was advised.
I had a friend say well, youknow, that's not, that's not
really making a statement.
Make a statement, do somethingmore than 10 or 12.
You know, I was on a mom andmaybe 10 to 12 other women.
She said make a statement.
She said honor 125 women.
And I flipped out, was likewhere am I going to find 125
women in Raleigh, north Carolinathat were Black, that did

(01:11):
things?
Oh my gosh, I have a listthat's over 250 women now and
it's growing.
So I'm doing a dinner event inApril to honor Black women in
Raleigh, north Carolina, not thecounty of Wake, just the city
of Raleigh.
From the 1800s forward, I'vealways been inspired by Oprah's

(01:38):
Legends Wall and the fact thatshe had legends and youngins,
because there are people, thereare women in particular, who set
a standard for us.
They did things Generally, theydid them quietly, they weren't
big and loud things, but thereare young folks who have
followed in their trails or havetaken those examples to break

(02:01):
through new barriers, and I'mjust so excited to be able to
share this history.
One of the things that Irealized when I was looking
about my mom was that there wereall these other women that did
things with her.
They might not have beenelected officials, but they were
on the committees, theyundergirded the community, they

(02:22):
were the activists, they did thesupport work, they created
small businesses to help takecare of their families, or you
know.
They just were amazing.
And then, as I started, Istarted to realize some of the
women she worked with.
She was the young woman in thegroup and there were other older

(02:44):
women who were teachers andeducators.
And then I realized how many ofthe black teachers that I knew
growing up who had not justbachelor's degrees but master's
and doctor's, but they were inthe K-12 system and I wonder why
they went on to get theseadvanced degrees and how well

(03:07):
were they regarded.
And one of my last thoughts hasbeen who knows this stuff?
Who didn't go to their funeraland read it in their obituary?
I'm not having that.
I'm going to tell these truthsbecause these are women who
pushed the way.
We hear about some of the men,but we don't hear so much about

(03:30):
the women.
In fact, when my mom told me atsome point that when she
decided to run for school board,a friend of hers who was a
black male was running and someblack men came to her and asked
her not to run in order to besure that he was elected, really
she didn't pay attention tothat.

(03:53):
She ran and both of them wereelected to the last Raleigh City
School Board and the firstmerged Wake County School Board,
and after she lost there-election bid that she had, it
was 25 years before there weretwo more Black people on the

(04:13):
Wake County School Board Blackpeople on the Wake County School
Board.
That's amazing.
Can you imagine if she had madethe decision to do what the men
told her and not run?
There would just have been onepoint of view for an entire
community of people who looklike us.
And as it was, she was able tochange some of the force of how

(04:39):
our education system in WakeCounty was formed and at that
time, she was the only person onthe board who had a teaching
background in the K-12 systemand that was important because
most of the people were businesspeople who were on the board or
they were in higher ed, and soI was so proud of her.

(05:01):
Now that doesn't mean that Iliked everything my mama did or
that we agreed on everything,but I respected her for who she
was and for the way that shecarried herself and the things
that she did.
And when I looked around at theother women that she carried
herself and the things that shedid, and when I looked around at
the other women that she spenttime with, I respected all of

(05:22):
them for the things that theydid.
And then I realized nobody'srecognized them.
And I want to be sure they'rerecognized.
So I'm hosting this dinnerevent where men will be doing
all of the.
They're not doing all theplanning, but they're doing the
work.

(05:43):
They'll be speaking and talkingabout how amazing these women
were poem, and we'll have alibation ceremony to talk about
the importance of women in thecommunity and how Black women

(06:04):
have undergirded everything thatBlack men have done.
And I found a newspaper articlefrom 1867, or actually a friend
found it and sent it to me thattalks about how important women
were during that period of timein making sure that the

(06:24):
communities were taken care ofand helping men to think through
things and to be an importantpart of the planning, and that
was in the newspaper.
An important part of theplanning, and that was in the
newspaper.
That's not something that wesee very often today.
And so 250 women, 195 of themelders, legends and maybe 50 who

(06:49):
are youngins, who have grownand learned as they have seen
these women and this is a shortpodcast because I won't be quiet
anymore about women and theirrole in our society- You've been

(07:12):
listening to Quiet no Morewhere I share my journey.

Speaker 1 (07:16):
So you can be quiet.
Let's connect atwwwcarmencoffincom.