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Biography
Miss Anna A. Clemons was a Black woman from Southport, North Carolina (Clemons, A. A., 1920a, para. 2). She was the only girl among 8 siblings. She owned property in Brunswick County, paid her taxes, and worked as a nurse. She nursed in almost every home in her town starting in 1911, and sometimes acted as an assistant to Dr. J. Arthur Doshice, one of the South’s best surgeons. She was a charitable woman who donated to the Red Cross; volunteered during the flu epidemic of 1918; and, held a certificate for heroic services rendered across the state of North Carolina. Anna was a Christian woman who belonged to the Methodist Church and sought to live in peace. (Clemons, A. A., 1920b, para. 2)
The First Letter to the National Woman’s Party (NWP)
Anna was not a civil rights leader. However, she was very educated in politics, active in her community affairs, and passionate about the right to vote. Unfortunately, as far as we know, that passion never translated to an actual right to vote. Frustrated with being denied the right to vote after the ratification of the 19th Amendment, Anna wrote to the NWP first on October 10th, 1920. She was seeking help and information from the Secretary of the NWP on how to vote or register to vote by mail before it was too late to register. As she detailed in this one paragraph letter to the NWP, she sought assistance “because a colored person in my county is unable to vote, because they are colored” (Clemons, A. A., 1920a, para. 2).
Voting Problems for African Americans in North Carolina
On October 15th, 1920, before even receiving a letter back from the NWP, Anna went in person to register to vote, but the Registrator refused to register her because her ability to read and write did not “suit” him. North Carolina law, at that time, required someone to be able to read and write to register to vote, yet even when those requirements were met by people of color, those people of color still were refused by rogue Registrator’s. Therefore, the ability to read and write well enough to satisfy, or “suit”, the Registrator became a known racist and exclusionary requirement to register to vote for all Black people. (Clemons, A. A., 1920b, para. 2)
The NWP’s Response to Anna’s First Letter
On October 20th, 1920, the NWP Headquarters Secretary, Emma Wold, responded to Anna’s letter. Emma responded that she just received the October 10th letter, and informed Anna that registration in North Carolina had to be done in person and in the precinct she lived, and that voting by mail was only possible when applying for a ballot to the county Board. Emma stated that the deadline to register to vote was October 23rd and reiterated no one could register outside of their own precinct. (Wold, E., 1920b, para. 2 and 3)
In addition to providing that information, most of which Anna didn’t ask about, Emma also discredited and trivialized the problem Anna originally wrote about by stating “we have been making inquiries and learn that colored women are being registered in North Carolina. Have you tried personally?” (Wold, E., 1920b, para. 4). Despite this, Emma stated to write back if the registration board refused to register her and the NWP would look into the matter and see what could be done.
Anna’s Second and Last Letter to the NWP
On October 24th, 1920, Anna wrote back to Emma, stating she received the NWP response letter on October 23rd and further detailing her October 15th experience, explaining that “all people of colored origin” in her whole county had been unable to “suit” the Registrator. These registration problems were not unique to Anna, or even all the Black women in her community, but also her seven brothers, who she referred to as “law abiding supposed to be citizens”. (Clemons, A., 1920b, para. 2)
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