NCNW Headquarters

The National Council of Negro Women, Inc. (NCNW) was founded in 1935 by Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune. NCNW is an “organization of organizations” comprising 300 campus and community-based sections and 32 national women’s organizations that
enlightens, inspires, and connects more than 3,000,000 women and men. NCNW fulfills our mission through research, advocacy, and by offering programs focused on issues of health, education, civic engagement and economic empowerment in the United States and Africa diaspora.

Our Pledge

It is our pledge to make a lasting contribution to all that is finest and best in America, to cherish and enrich her heritage of freedom and progress by working for the integration of all her people regardless of race, creed, or national origin, into her spiritual, social, cultural, civic, and economic life, and thus aid her to achieve the glorious destiny of a true and unfettered democracy.

Our Mission

The mission of NCNW is to lead, empower and advocate for women of African descent, their families, and communities.

Our Founder

Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune

Mary McLeod Bethune was an American educator, civil rights activist, and presidential advisor. She served as an advisor on African American affairs to four presidents, including presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. She was born on July 10, 1875, near Mayesville, South Carolina, on a rice and cotton farm to Patsy and Samuel McLeod, who had been enslaved.

Bethune saw education as the key to improving the lives of African Americans and had the chance to continue her educational pursuits when a woman offered to pay for the expenses of one child to attend Scotia Seminary in North Carolina. After attending Scotia Seminary, she received a scholarship to the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.

After attending Moody Bible Institute, Bethune dedicated herself to educating others. She worked in Augusta, GA, at the Haines Institute, and Sumter, SC, at the Kendall Institute before moving to Daytona Beach, FL. In 1904, Bethune opened the Daytona Normal and Industrial Institute for Girls with five students. The school gained in popularity and eventually merged with the Cookman Institute for Men located in Jacksonville, FL, to form Bethune-Cookman College in 1923. As its original founder, Bethune served as president of this institution until 1942.

During the 1930s, despite her success, one of Bethune’s goals remained unfulfilled. The goal that remained unfulfilled was the notion of forming a coalition of black women’s organizations. Bethune strongly believed that if black women presented a united front, then black women could become a powerful force for promoting political and social change. During a meeting in March 1930, Bethune held a meeting to officially propose her idea, but the women present at the meeting decided to set up a committee for further study rather than immediately form a coalition. After forming NCNW, Dr. Bethune was appointed as Director of the Division of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration by Franklin D. Roosevelt, a position she occupied from 1936 to 1943. Roosevelt also considered her one of his foremost advisers in the unofficial “black cabinet” in his administration. Dr. Bethune died on May 18, 1955. Her death was followed by several editorial tributes, including Eleanor Roosevelt dedicating a “My Day” column in memoriam. Since her death, Dr. Bethune has been honored with a sculpture in Lincoln Park in Washington, DC (1974), a US Postage stamp (1985), and the soon to be statue in Statuary Hall.

South Carolina is proud to continue the legacy of our native daughter, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune. We have the distinction of honoring her with.

Our History

On December 5, 1935, in New York City, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune founded the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW). The women present at the meeting were representatives of 29 diverse black women’s organizations. NCNW was incorporated on July 25, 1936, in Washington, DC. The four major objectives, as defined in the organization’s constitution were:

To unite member organization into a National Council of Negro Women, Inc.
To educate and encourage Negro women to participate in civic, political, and economic
activities in the same manner as all other Americans participate.
To serve as a clearing house for the dissemination of information concerning activities of
organized colored women.
To initiate and promote, subject to the approval of member organizations, projects for the
benefit of the Negro.

Past Presidents

Mary McLeod Bethune (Founder & 1st President) – 1935-1949
Dorothy Boulding Ferebee – 1949-1953
Vivian Carter Mason – 1953-1957
Dorothy Irene Height (President Emerita) – 1957-2010
Barbara Shaw – 2010-2012
Ingrid Saunders Jones – 2012-2018
Johnnetta Betsch Cole – 2018-2022

Our National Headquarters

NCNW Headquarters
633 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004

Our National Leaders

Shavon Arline-Bradley

President & CEO

Shavon Arline-Bradley, who is also an ordained minister, brings 21 years of experience in healthcare, equity diversity & inclusion (EDI), government affairs, and executive leadership. She is the founding principal and CEO of R.E.A.C.H. Beyond Solutions, a public health, advocacy, and executive leadership firm promoting EDI, political and organizational strategy, risk management, government affairs, and technical assistance. Under her leadership, the firm’s gross profit grew exponentially in 5 years by broadening its client base to include federal government, foundation, corporate, non-profit, and political candidate entities in the United States and the Netherlands.

Prior to starting her firm, she served as senior advisor and director of external engagement during the Obama Administration in the Department of Health & Human Services for the 19th U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, where she worked with congressional and global leaders to advance the administration’s public health agenda of building bi-partisan policies and solidifying public-private partnership opportunities to advance domestic and global health.

Before her tenure in the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General, at the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) headquarters, Rev. Arline-Bradley served as the executive vice president of strategic planning & partnerships, as well as former chief of staff, where she managed over $30million portfolio, and senior director of health programs for 2,200 chapters and over 500,000 members.

Because of her passion for advancing EDI and improving the health and social outcomes of the most vulnerable, Rev. Arline-Bradley co-founded The Health Equity Cypher Group, a collective of health leaders advancing EDI and executive leadership in all sectors.

She is a community advocate serving as president & chairman of Delta for Women in Action, a 501(c)4 organization, the vice-chair of the NAACP Board of Directors Health Committee, and the immediate past co-chair of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., National Social Action Commission. Rev. Arline-Bradley also serves as an advisory member of the Oprah Winfrey Network initiative “OWN Your Health.” In addition, she is an active member of the American Public Health Association, the Links, Inc., and Jack & Jill of America, Inc.

A southern New Jersey native, she earned her bachelor’s and master’s in public health from Tulane University. She also graduated from the Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University with a Master of Divinity, where she too became an ordained minister. Rev. Arline-Bradley completed an Executive Certificate of Business Management from Howard University and an Executive Certificate in Diversity & Inclusion from Cornell University.

NCNW is an “organization of organizations,” comprised of 330 campus and community-based sections and 32 national women’s organizations that enlightens, inspires, and connects more than 2,000,000 women and men. Its mission is to lead, advocate for, and empower women of African descent, their families and communities. It was founded in 1935 by Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, an influential educator and activist, and for more than fifty years, the iconic Dr. Dorothy Height was president of NCNW.

Today, the NCNW programs are grounded on a foundation of critical concerns that promote education with a special focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEAM); encourage entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and economic stability; educate women about good health and HIV/AIDS and promote civic engagement and advocates for sound public policy, and social justice.

Dr. A. Lois Keith
National Chair

Dr. Keith is a Legacy Life Member and Bethune Achiever and has dedicated much of her life to NCNW’s mission. In 2016 at the NCNW’s 57th National Convention, she was honored to serve as co-chair of this event and she was elected to the position of National Vice President. She has served as the National Membership Chair at the pleasure of both President’s Dr. Dorothy I. Height, and Ms. Ingrid Saunders Jones administration. In 2022, she was appointed to serve again as Vice President. Dr. Keith was a member of the NCNW Transition Team and was a co-chair of the 60th Biennial National Convention.

Dr. Keith has served as Executive Member-at-Large, member of the National Nominating Committee, member of the National Re-certification Committee, and National Assistant Secretary, co-chair of Membership and is a member of the President’s Circle. In her local DeKalb Section, she served as Chair of the Leadership Committee, President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, Secretary, Assistant Secretary of the DeKalb Section and she is a charter member of the DeKalb Pacesetters Life Guild.

In addition to her service at NCNW, Dr. Keith is also a champion for equitable education. She is a graduate of Alabama A&M University where she received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secondary Education with a major in Mathematics and a minor in General Science. She received her Master’s in Middle School Education from Georgia State University and she also studied at Mercer University. She had a stellar teaching career with the Henry County School System for 30 years, in addition to serving as the Math Department Chair and Beta Club Sponsor. Her many accolades include Teacher of the Year 1991-92 and 2000-2001, nomination to Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, and the Principal’s Award 1995-1996.

Over the course of her expansive work in community service and education, Dr. Keith has received several awards and accolades including a proclamation from the State of Georgia for her service to NCNW and the community. In 2014, she was honored to have been the keynote speaker at the dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony at the new and first public Dorothy I. Height Elementary School in the state of Georgia. In late 2014, the DeKalb Section honored Dr. Keith as the first recipient of the Lois Keith Trailblazer Award for Exemplary Community Service and award which was named in her honor. They also awarded her the Living the Legacy Award in 2014.

In 2018, Dr. Keith received a Hidden Figure Award and she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree from American Bible University. In 2020, she received the Vanguard Award of Excellence in Leadership Award from the National Women of Achievement, Inc., and on July 22, 2021, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Real Women Atlanta Magazine.

Dr. Keith is a member of the Georgia and Henry County Retired Educators Association where she served as President. She is a chartered member of the East Metro Orchids, where she served as the chartering secretary and is currently serving as 2nd Vice President. She is a member of Xi Beta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. where she serves as chaplain. Dr. Keith is an active member of the Move of God Church in Atlanta, Georgia.

She is a chartered member of the New Rock Chapter of Top Ladies of Distinction where she served as the chartering secretary, and she served as the Area IV NCNW Chair.

She and her late husband, Lonnie, enjoyed more than forty-nine wonderful years of marriage. They have one son, Darius.

South Carolina State Mechanism NCNW