“W” is for Women’s Clubs. The core organizations of this movement were the South Carolina Federation of Women’s Clubs [SCFWC] and the South Carolina Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs SCFCWC]. Most of the clubs in these organizations initially formed for women’s self-improvement. However, over time the focus shifted to social reform and in the case of the SCFCWC, to racial reform. The South Carolina women’s club movement was a powerful force for social change. Like members of progressive organizations elsewhere, clubwomen fought for prohibition, the sanctity of the home, educational opportunities, suffrage, health, and community improvement. The legacy of the women’s club movement clearly reveled the commitment of black and white women in South Carolina to community uplift, social reform, and access to better educational opportunities, while simultaneously perpetuating pride in a distinctive southern identity.
Dr. Walter Edgar has two programs on South Carolina Public Radio: Walter Edgar's Journal, and South Carolina from A to Z. Dr. Edgar received his B.A. degree from Davidson College in 1965 and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina in 1969. After two years in the army (including a tour of duty in Vietnam), he returned to USC as a post-doctoral fellow of the National Archives, assigned to the Papers of Henry Laurens.