Josephine Beall Willson Bruce (October 29, 1853 – February 15, 1923) was a women's rights activist in the late 1890s and early 1900s. She spent a majority of her time working for the National Organization of Afro-American Women. She was a prominent socialite in Washington, D.C. throughout most of her life where she lived with her husband, United States Senator Blanche Bruce. In addition to these accomplishments, she was the first black teacher in the public school system in Cleveland, and she eventually became a highly regarded educator at Tuskegee University in Alabama.
Early life
Josephine Beall Willson was born in Philadelphia on October 29, 1853 to Dr. Joseph Willson and Elizabeth Harnett Willson, the first of five children for the pair. Her family spent no more than a year in Philadelphia, moving to Cleveland in 1854. The family prioritized education and sent Josephine to Cleveland Central High School, where she graduated in 1871. After graduation, she took several teaching courses which then gave her the opportunity to teach at the Mayflower school, making her the first black teacher in the public school system of Cleveland.
Personal life
In 1878 she married Senator Blanche Bruce, with whom she honeymooned in Europe for four months. Upon their return to the United States, they settled in Washington, D.C. Bruce had her only child, Roscoe Conkling Bruce, in 1879. He was named after Republican Senator Roscoe Conkling. She delayed the christening of her son until he could be taken to Cleveland, so that the same rector who had performed her marriage could christen her child.
Bruce dedicated her life to the National Organization of Afro-American Women (NACW), running for the vice presidency of the organization in 1896. In 1898 her husband, Blanche K. Bruce, passed away, after which she competently managed the family's money and land on her own. At the invitation of Booker T. Washington, she served as the principal at Tuskegee University from 1899 to 1902. That position gave her the opportunity to train other educators, as the institute was itself vocational. Her transition to Tuskegee was made more difficult by the rural background of most students there, in contrast to her pedagogic experiences in the more cosmopolitan North. Some criticized Bruce as a wealthy woman taking a job that might have been filled by a less privileged woman more sympathetic to the needs of Tuskegee students.
Bruce's son Roscoe graduated from Harvard University in 1902, later becoming the head of the academic department at Tuskegee University. Josephine Bruce then moved to Mississippi for a short time to live with her family, only to return to Washington, D.C. to run for the presidency of the NACW in 1906. She died of a heart attack in her sleep on February 15, 1923 in Kimball, West Virginia.
Social life
Bruce was an accomplished hostess and socialite, especially during her husband's years serving in the Senate. The African-American newspaper Washington Bee noted that Bruce "pays and receives calls from those of her select set with unvarying regard for etiquette". She was said to be fashionable and a great beauty. Newspapers placed great emphasis on her complexion, remarking that it did not evidence an African heritage and that her skin was so fair that she could pass for a Spanish lady. One account said she had blonde hair and blue eyes.
Bruce and her husband were often criticized by members of the black community, who claimed the Bruces spent more time with whites than blacks. Whites also snubbed Bruce and her husband, excluding them from social events unrelated to Blanche Bruce's position in the Senate. Democrats and their wives refused to visit Bruce, looking down on her because of her racial heritage. After her husband's senate career ended, Bruce's social rejection by whites became more frequent.
Activism
The exclusion of African-American women from white suffrage groups prompted African-American feminists to form their own separate national organization, giving Josephine Bruce the chance to play various leadership roles. She accordingly became associated with the National Organization of Afro-American Women (NACW), running for the vice presidency of the organization in 1896. Despite her work for the organization, she lost the election, possibly because of her fair complexion. She helped inspire the career of Mary Church Terrell by inviting the younger woman to stay with her in Washington.