Independent Women's Organization. | Tulane University Special Collections

Name: Independent Women's Organization.

Historical Note: The Independent Women's Organization was founded during the late 1930s and early 1940s consisted of Louisiana women anxious to eliminate government corruption. In particular, they initially organized to support the anti-Huey P. Long gubernatorial candidate, Sam Houston Jones, moving on to advocate issues such as public integration and governmental reform. The Independent Women's Organization fully supported the deLesseps Morrison mayoral campaign, accusing the incumbent, Robert Maestri, of being corrupt and ineffective. They registered four thousand new women voters and Morrison won the election by just about the same amount of votes. Reforming public education took priority in the 1950s. In the 1960s, the originally all-white group began to see its first black members. The group was known for its sessions during which members grilled political candidates before deciding who to endorse. An endorsement from the organization was highly sought after. The organization began to decline during the 1990s as women's roles changed and the organization became factionalized and overly politicized.

Sources: Manuscripts Collection 980

Note Author: LAC Group

Records or Manuscript Collections Created by Independent Women's Organization.