Organizing New Bedford: Women Who Mobilized Change

Look closely around New Bedford and you will see the countless ways women have mobilized residents of “The City that Lit the World” to create positive change. Trace the history of these movements through the stories of the women profiled in this tour. Learn about their legacies as individuals who were lighting the way to improve their communities.

We rarely have the opportunity to learn a city’s history through the perspectives of women. Until recently, the everyday lives and achievements of women have not been well documented or valued; they have been silenced or pushed to the margins. Since the mid-20th century, historians and public history institutions have increasingly worked to fix this, searching the records and highlighting stories of women and other marginalized populations. This tour brings long deserved attention to the work these women have done to make the city and region a better place.

As an international city known for its whaling fleet, textile mills, and fishing industry, New Bedford has long been full of diverse cultures and backgrounds. From its days hosting a large Quaker population, the city was seen by many as a tolerant and accepting place where someone could find a better life for themselves and their family. Established neighborhoods of French Canadian, African American, Portuguese, and Cape Verdean residents were just some of the communities that defined the city from the 18th-20th centuries. Today even more cultures make up New Bedford’s diverse landscape.

The women featured in this tour demonstrate how people have always found ways to improve their communities. These individuals are diverse in cultural heritage and expertise, and each used their experiences and passions to become involved in the causes that meant the most to them. They each struggled against impediments to women’s advancement. Often their leadership skills and influence developed in arenas that were deemed more acceptable for women, such as volunteer work or education. Their stories represent just a few instances of social activism in New Bedford and are noteworthy for their efforts to organize their peers in joining them. Some of the buildings in which these women lived or worked are no longer standing, but the spirit of their endeavors fill the streets.

The women featured were selected from New Bedford Whaling Museum’s initiative Lighting the Way: Historic Women of the SouthCoast. Since 2018, Lighting the Way has highlighted women from Massachusetts’s SouthCoast, a richly historic region stretching from Cape Cod to the Rhode Island border. Lighting the Way seeks “to explore the impact of historical women from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds throughout history” by “unearthing remarkable stories of women’s callings that required grit, tenacity, and enduring commitment to their families, careers and communities,” (www.historicwomensouthcoast.org). Lighting the Way invites people to learn about their local history through the stories of women, employing thought-provoking programs and a robust website with over 100 online profiles.