By Deborah Bailey,
Special to the AFRO
Thelma Daley, Ed.D, was born to become President of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), a role she assumed on Feb. 2 of this year, immediately after the resignation of Johnnetta Betsch Cole, Ph.D., on Jan. 31 of this year.
Daley’s leadership of professional and women’s organizations has given her years of experience for the reins of leadership of the organization founded by Mary McLeod Bethune in 1935. Daley had already been serving as NCNWs Vice President and had been affiliated with the international organization representing 28 national affiliate organizations and more than 200 community-based affiliates for years when she became president.
But Daley has something else going for her. Daley has the imprint of a voice that will guide her in decisions she and the women around her will make to speak up and out for Black women during a time of unprecedented breakthroughs and struggles.
The legacy of NCNW has been handed to Daley…literally.
Just as Dorothy Irene Height, who led NCNW for 40 years, was mentored and encouraged in leadership by McLeod Bethune, Daley was mentored and encouraged by Height. The tradition and legacy of NCNW were passed to Daley from Height through a long affiliation the two had as former national presidents of Delta Sigma Theta and lifetime members of NCNW.
“I am very honored that she considers me to be a friend,” Daley said in a previously recorded interview with the History Makers in 2003 when asked about her relationship with Dorothy Height.
“Isn’t that interesting? Sometimes I get a call from her every day and sometimes two or three calls from her a day. And she’ll say, ‘well what about this, what about this, you know,’ and I’m honored that it’s because she feels she can trust me,” Daley recalled of Height, who died in 2010 at the age of 98.
Former U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Alexis Herman, NCNW Executive Board Member and President of the Dorothy I. Height Educational Foundation offered an enthusiastic endorsement at Daley’s swearing-in last month.
“Our members are excited to know that Dr. Daley is taking the helm of NCNW at this critical moment and know that she will continue to inspire the members and stakeholders to reach higher heights. We know that she will continue to empower our members because she has the passion, skills and vision to execute the mission to lead, advocate for and empower women of African descent, their families and communities,” Herman said.
Daley will lead the NCNW through a tough agenda for Black women including litigation led by NCNW against corporate giant Johnson & Johnson regarding years of marketing its talcum powder to Black women. The use of talcum powder has been connected to numerous cases of ovarian cancer. More than 20,000 women have joined the lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson. NCNW is working with noted Civil Rights attorney, Ben Crump to seek justice for Black women.
She will also inherit leadership for the NCNW COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund— a lifeline that continues to seek wholeness for the Black women who have been disproportionately impacted by illness, death and adverse economic impact from COVID-19.
These two major health issues impacting Black women represent just the tip of the iceberg of an agenda that the Annapolis native will lead on behalf of hundreds of thousands of Black women affiliated with NCNW; including teachers and labor unions, sororities and social organizations, business, health and civic organizations and church and missionary societies.
Daley is well prepared for the leadership of NCNW, having served in the national leadership of member-based organizations since the 1970s. She has served as the first African-American president of the American Counseling Association, past president of the American Personnel and Guidance Association and past President of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
Daley earned her bachelor’s of arts from Bowie State University, a master’s degree in Counseling and Personnel Administration from New York University and a doctoral degree in Counseling from George Washington University.
At her swearing-in ceremony, Daley pledged to rally Black women together around the tremendous socio-economic challenges of living in 21st century America.
“My goal is to coalesce the total membership around the many needs to be fulfilled. To reach our goals we must break barriers, build bridges and climb mountains,” Daley emphasized.
Help us Continue to tell OUR Story and join the AFRO family as a member – subscribers are now members! Join here!