Suggested Teaching Instructions

Title: Through the Eyes of Mrs. Mary Burnett Talbert: Black American Women, Activism, and Early 19th Century Buffalo, NY 

Overview: 

Mrs. Mary Burnett Talbert was a pioneer in her own right. She attained notable recognition as a civil rights and women’s rights activist, clubwoman, reformer, orator, and educator. Much can be learned about the challenges that Black American women faced in the early 19th Century as well as how these challenges were turned into opportunities to serve the Black Americans. 

Goal: 

This lesson should be used in conjunction with the “Phyllis Wheatley Club of Buffalo, NY: Lifting the Black Community as they Climbed” lesson plan as it focuses on the establishment and work of the Phyllis Wheatley Club in the City of Buffalo. Students will learn to think like historians through conducting inquiry-based, investigative research using a variety of primary and secondary documents as they relate to Mrs. Mary Burnett Talbert’s life and legacy.

Objectives: 

Students will:

• Analyze primary documents from SUNY Buffalo State Archives, Buffalo History Museum, HathiTrust Digital Library, and Alexander Street Women and Social Movements Library

• Develop historical reading skills

• Identify an author’s perspective

• Develop claims 

• Use sources as evidence

• Cite evidence

Investigative (Compelling) Question: 

What did Mary Burnett Talbert’s activism tell us about Black American women and how they interpreted the ideals of American democracy? 

Time Required:

2-4 class periods 

Recommended Grade Range: 

11th grade 

Subject: 

Library and Social Studies 

Standards: 

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)

1.3 Knowledge Constructor

Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.

United States History and Government

11.4 POST-CIVIL WAR ERA (1865 – 1900): Reconstruction resulted in political reunion and expanded constitutional rights. However, those rights were undermined, and issues of inequality continued for African Americans, women, Native Americans, Mexican Americans, and Chinese immigrants. 

11.5 INDUSTRIALIZATION AND URBANIZATION (1870 – 1920): The United States was transformed from an agrarian to an increasingly industrial and urbanized society. Although this transformation created new economic opportunities, it also created societal problems that were addressed by a variety of reform efforts. 

Credits: Ayodele Ojumu

PREPARATION: 

Materials Used: 

Analyze a Photo - National Archives

Analyze a Written Document - National Archives

Resources Used in Preparation of the Lesson: The following sources represent a bibliography of sources and research conducted in preparation of the lesson. Not all of these sources are featured in the lesson, but students, teachers, and scholars wishing to pursue a deeper study of the topic may find this helpful.  

Alexander Street, Women and Social Movements Library

• Document 10: Letter from Mary White Ovington to Alice Paul, 4 January 1921

• Letter from Mary White Ovington to Alice Paul, [New York], 4 January 1921, Mary Church Terrell Papers, Library of Congress (Microfilm, reel 2, #544). | Alexander Street Documents

HathiTrust Digital Library. 

• “Anti-Lynching Crusaders, NAACP Anti-Lynching Campaign 1922-1923.” #284  (p. 276) - #289 (p. 281). https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=emu.010001066207&view=1up&seq=1 

Monroe Fordham Regional History Center, Archives & Special Collections Department, E. H. Butler Library, SUNY Buffalo State, Rev. Dr. J. Edwards Nash Papers.

• “Mary B. Talbert Memorial.” 

• “Mary B. Talbert Frederick Douglass Home.” 

• “Mary B. Talbert Memorial Fund.” 

• “Mary B. Talbert Letters.” 

• “Michigan Street Baptist History 1836-1908 by Mary Burnett Talbert.” 

• “Public Mass Meeting given in Honor of Mrs. Mary B. Talbert, President of the National Association of Colored Women of the United States under the Auspices of the Phyllis Wheatley Club, January 26, 1919.” 

• “Mrs. Mary B. Talbert Memorial Service Program, December 2, 1923.” 

• “Mary B. Talbert Christian Culture Congress Memorial Service, October 9, 1927.” 

University of Massachusetts, Robert S. Cox Special Collections and University Archives Research Center, W.E.B. DuBois Papers.

• Circular letter from Mary B. Talbert, August 1922

• Letter from Anti-Lynching Crusaders (Mary B. Talbert) to Nina Du Bois 

Williams, L. S. (2016). Mary Morris Burnett Talbert: Educator, Club Woman, Human Rights Advocate, 1866-1923. Alexander Street.  

• https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cbibliographic_details%7C3295906?account_id=14169&usage_group_id=96875

PROCEDURE of the LESSON: 

1. The teacher will provide a historical overview of Mrs. Mary Burnett Talbert’s life using “Mary Morris Burnett Talbert: Educator, Club Woman, Human Rights Advocate, 1866-1923.”

2. Students will be split into groups with all artifacts equally divided amongst the groups.

3. Students will analyze the artifacts using the Document and Photo Analysis Worksheets. The photo and document analysis worksheet questions should be used to help guide all student work. 

4. Students will be encouraged to underline/highlight important points and record questions to share during the teacher-led class discussion.

Group 1

• “Michigan Street Baptist History 1836-1908 by Mary Burnett Talbert.”  pp. 3-14

• Anti-Lynching Crusaders Circular letter from Mary B. Talbert, August 1922

• Anti-Lynching Crusaders, NAACP Anti-Lynching Campaign 1922-1923 booklet, #284 (p. 276) - #289 (p. 281)

• Anti-Lynching letter to Executive Board of Anti-Lynching Crusaders

Group 2:

• Document 10: Letter from Mary White Ovington to Alice Paul, 4 January 1921 

See the Scans from the Nash Papers 

• “Public Mass Meeting 1919” document, P. 4

• “Mrs. Mary B. Talbert Memorial Service 1923” document P. 5

• “Mary B. Talbert Christian Culture Congress Memorial Service Program 1927” document, P. 2-3

• “Mary B. Talbert Memorial Service 1929” document, P. 12

•  “Dedication of Mary B. Talbert Plaque” document, P. 14

• “Souvenir Program August 12, 1922” document, P. 15-17

• “Mary B. Talbert letters 1921” document P. 17

• “Mary B. Talbert letters 1921” document (Document 10: Letter from Mary White Ovington to Alice Paul, 4 January 1921 )

• National Association of Colored Women in Convention 1920” photograph, P. 18

EVALUATION

1. Students will summarize their findings from the analyzed documents and share findings through one of these assessment options:

   • Conduct an interview with a local African-American female activist on her work and the legacy of Mary Talbert today.

   • Create a concept map that connects and centers Mary Talbert and her work within the historical context of the early 20th century. 

   • Create an artifact that connects to the investigative question. 

   • Produce a multimedia, interactive poster or video that shares their knowledge of the contributions of Mary Talbert and African-American female activism in Buffalo.

2. In a writing task or a teacher-led discussion, students will answer the investigative (compelling question), “What did Mary Burnett Talbert’s activism tell us about Black American women and how they interpreted the ideals of American democracy?” The teacher will structure the writing task or the discussion to check for understanding while allowing students the opportunity to ask questions and share important points with each other.