Elise Johnson McDougald
October 11, 1884 (or 1885) to June 10, 1971
McDougald was an educator, essayist, writer, and activist who was active in the early twentieth century. Her writing advocated for racial and gender equality. She was published in several Black-owned periodicals, but her most well-known work is the "The Task of Negro Womanhood." This essay was featured in Alain Locke's The New Negro: An Interpretation and it is one of the few works that focuses on the Black woman as an integral part of the New Negro ideology.
McDougald became the first African American woman to work as a principal in New York City public schools. She retired from educating in 1954.
Quote from "The Task of Negro Womanhood"
"Throughout the years of history, woman has been the weather-vane, the indicator, showing in which direction the wind of destiny blows. Her status and development have augured now calm and stability, now swift currents of progress. What then is to be said of the Negro woman of to-day, whose problems are of such import to her race?"
The "Hierarchy" of Black Women's Work
In her essay "The Task of Negro Womanhood," McDougald identified four labor groups that distinguished the experiences of Black women. The pyramid presented here shows how she defined these groups from the largest (bottom of the pyramid) to the smallest (top of the pyramid).
Other Works By Elise Johnson McDougald
"Social Progress" (article)
"The Schools and the Vocational Life of Negros" (article)
"New Day for the Colored Woman Worker" (survey)