History Day Blueprint

Article: "In early 20th century Hartford, Mary Townsend Seymour fought battles and formed daring alliances to promote the cause of local African Americans. She was a charter member of the Hartford chapter of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and, during the First World War, served in various war relief groups. Her public life even extended into the arenas of union organizing and politics–she was the first African American woman to run for state office. The years 1917-1920 were Seymour’s most concentrated in terms of her public advocacy, but she remained influential in Hartford’s African American community for decades afterward. Hers is the remarkable story of the rise of an African American woman into a position of community leadership during the early decades of the 20th century."