Elizabeth Fouse
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Beatrice Cooke Fouse (1875-1952) was a Kentucky woman dedicated to gaining equality for African American women on both local and national levels. She founded as well as became the head of many organizations, with the ultimate goal of ending discrimination. Her faith was critical to her activities in social and church-related clubs.
and graduated from the University of Cincinnati
. She started her teaching career in 1893 in a segregated high school in Corydon, Indiana
. She also taught penmanship to white students at Harrison County Institute, and played clarinet in a band though she was the only Black person.
She married William Henry Fouse (1868-1944), a school principal, on August 10, 1898.
(NACW), and becoming the President of the Kentucky Association of Colored Women (KACW). During her time in the KACW, Fouse started and maintained a scholarship loan fund for over 40 years. Papers from the NAACP showed Lizzie as the Principal Correspondent for the Lexington, Kentucky chapter. Her writings included he main topics of: “Women as branch leaders; burglary case results in death penalty; police brutality; rape of minors; and anti-lynching.”
In 1920, Fouse founded the Phyllis Wheatley Y.W.C.A. She held the officer position at many organizations, including the Acme Art and Culture Club, the Women’s Improvement Club and Day Nursery, the Women’s auxiliary of the Emancipation League, and the Baptist Women’s Educational Convention. “In opposition to discrimination, segregation, and limited public assistance, Fouse followed a strategy that encouraged self-help, self-sufficiency, and respectable behavior. Although it served the community, club work also allowed black women to cultivate leadership skills and to establish a base of organizational strength. Through their civic activism, women such as Fouse created and sustained institutions that enabled the Black community not only to survive racism, but also to demand civic and political rights.”
Another important component of Fouse’s activism was temperance. The first state convention of the Kentucky Woman's Christian Temperance Union
(KWCTU), was held in Lexington in 1881. Membership was not open to African-American women though there was some cross-organizational work with Black women’s clubs in Kentucky. During the KWCTU Executive Committee Meeting in 1905, local branches were requested to organize auxiliary unions for African-American women to join. In 1907 the newly created Lexington Negro
Woman's Christian Temperance Union established a Colored
industrial school in the former Good Samaritan Hospital on East Short Street. The school had a day nursery and a vocational training school for children.. In addition, Fouse and a Mrs. Ballard led the Lexington Sojourner Truth
WCTU. In 1945, all the auxiliary branches separated from the KWCTU and created a separate Kentucky Sojourner Truth Woman's Christian Temperance Union, with Fouse as president.
Fouse was a member of the Zeta Phi Beta
Sorority.
She was a leader of the Woman's Convention, an auxiliary to the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.
gathering delegates from local churches, district associations and states to promote charity work and missions abroad and at home. She became a member of Church Women United
, a group of denominational women's organizations founded in 1941.
In 1944 Governor Simeon Willis appointed Fouse to serve on the Kentucky Commission for the Study of Negro Affairs.
.
Background
Fouse grew up in Lexington, KentuckyLexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
and graduated from the University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
. She started her teaching career in 1893 in a segregated high school in Corydon, Indiana
Corydon, Indiana
Corydon is a town in Harrison Township, Harrison County, Indiana, United States, founded in 1808, and is known as Indiana's First State Capital. After Vincennes, Corydon was the second capital of the Indiana Territory from May 1, 1813, until December 11, 1816. After statehood, the town was the...
. She also taught penmanship to white students at Harrison County Institute, and played clarinet in a band though she was the only Black person.
She married William Henry Fouse (1868-1944), a school principal, on August 10, 1898.
Social Activism
She was well known for her membership in the National Association of Colored WomenNational Association of Colored Women
The National Association of Colored Women Clubs was established in Washington, D.C., USA, by the merger in 1896 of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, the Women's Era Club of Boston, and the National League of Colored Women of Washington, DC, as well as smaller organizations that had...
(NACW), and becoming the President of the Kentucky Association of Colored Women (KACW). During her time in the KACW, Fouse started and maintained a scholarship loan fund for over 40 years. Papers from the NAACP showed Lizzie as the Principal Correspondent for the Lexington, Kentucky chapter. Her writings included he main topics of: “Women as branch leaders; burglary case results in death penalty; police brutality; rape of minors; and anti-lynching.”
In 1920, Fouse founded the Phyllis Wheatley Y.W.C.A. She held the officer position at many organizations, including the Acme Art and Culture Club, the Women’s Improvement Club and Day Nursery, the Women’s auxiliary of the Emancipation League, and the Baptist Women’s Educational Convention. “In opposition to discrimination, segregation, and limited public assistance, Fouse followed a strategy that encouraged self-help, self-sufficiency, and respectable behavior. Although it served the community, club work also allowed black women to cultivate leadership skills and to establish a base of organizational strength. Through their civic activism, women such as Fouse created and sustained institutions that enabled the Black community not only to survive racism, but also to demand civic and political rights.”
Another important component of Fouse’s activism was temperance. The first state convention of the Kentucky Woman's Christian Temperance Union
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union was the first mass organization among women devoted to social reform with a program that "linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far-reaching reform strategies based on applied Christianity." Originally organized on December 23, 1873, in...
(KWCTU), was held in Lexington in 1881. Membership was not open to African-American women though there was some cross-organizational work with Black women’s clubs in Kentucky. During the KWCTU Executive Committee Meeting in 1905, local branches were requested to organize auxiliary unions for African-American women to join. In 1907 the newly created Lexington Negro
Negro
The word Negro is used in the English-speaking world to refer to a person of black ancestry or appearance, whether of African descent or not...
Woman's Christian Temperance Union established a Colored
Colored
Colored is a term once widely used in the United States to describe black people and Native Americans...
industrial school in the former Good Samaritan Hospital on East Short Street. The school had a day nursery and a vocational training school for children.. In addition, Fouse and a Mrs. Ballard led the Lexington Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth was the self-given name, from 1843 onward, of Isabella Baumfree, an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son, she...
WCTU. In 1945, all the auxiliary branches separated from the KWCTU and created a separate Kentucky Sojourner Truth Woman's Christian Temperance Union, with Fouse as president.
Fouse was a member of the Zeta Phi Beta
Zeta Phi Beta
Zeta Phi Beta is an international, historically black Greek-lettered sorority and a member of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.Zeta Phi Beta is organized into 800+ chapters, in eight intercontinental regions including the USA, Africa, Europe, Asia and the Caribbean...
Sorority.
She was a leader of the Woman's Convention, an auxiliary to the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.
National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.
The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. is the largest predominantly African-American Christian denomination in the United States and is the world's second largest Baptist denomination...
gathering delegates from local churches, district associations and states to promote charity work and missions abroad and at home. She became a member of Church Women United
Church Women United
Church Women United is a national ecumenical Christian women’s movement representing Protestant, Roman Catholic, Orthodox and other Christian women. Founded in 1941, this organization has more than 1,200 local and state units in the United States and Puerto Rico. CWU's members represent 26...
, a group of denominational women's organizations founded in 1941.
In 1944 Governor Simeon Willis appointed Fouse to serve on the Kentucky Commission for the Study of Negro Affairs.
Other Resources
Fouse Family Papers, 1854, 1897-1951. 53M58. Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington, KentuckyLexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
.