United Order of Tents

The United Order of Tents is an organization for African American churchwomen founded in Virginia in 1867 by Annetta M. Lane. There are chapters across the United States. It is a secret society, with parts of membership and organizing only shared with members. It is the oldest benefit society for black women in the United States.[1]

About

The United Order of the Tents works to care for the sick and the elderly, to help those in need and to bury the dead.[2] Historically, the group also helped provide loans to members when banks refused to give them loans.[2] The Tents also helped provide shelter, food and healthcare to people in their communities.[3]

The organization has rituals and customs that it keeps secret and only imparts to members of the Tents.[4] Some women, in honor of their above-average service through the organization, are named Queens.[2] All women also call each other Sister.[2]

History
Rest Haven, a home for the elderly in Hampton, Virginia. The home was run by the United Order of Tents.

Annetta M. Lane, an enslaved woman, who was also a nurse on the plantation she worked on, and Harriet R. Taylor founded the organization in Virginia in 1867.[2] They wished to create a Christian group dedicated to helping members of the community.[2] The name came from the use of tents that fugitive slaves used on the Underground Railroad.[5] Lane and Taylor officially incorporated the organization under the names of abolitionists, J.R.Giddings and Joliffe Union and it became the first benevolent organization for women chartered in Virginia after the Civil War.[6][7][8] In 1888, the Grand National Tent was headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware.[9] Meetings were also hosted yearly in various locations of the country.[9] Lane was instrumental in leading and creating the Southern District for the United Order of Tents.[10]

The Tents established a home for the elderly in 1894 that ran continuously and funded only by members until 2002.[2]

References
  1. St. John Erickson, Mark (29 April 2013). "Historic black church rises from the ashes of the Civil War". Daily Press. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
  2. Greenidge, Kaitlyn (2017-10-06). "A Weekend With the Secret Society of Black Women". Lenny Letter. Retrieved 2017-10-11.
  3. Quinton, Jared (2016-07-12). "Simone Leigh's New Show Honors the Survival Tactics of Black Women". Artsy. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
  4. Smith, Glenn (2 June 2012). "Dwindling sisterhood could lose home". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
  5. Smith, Glenn (15 November 2008). "Order of Tents true to Christian code". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2017-10-18.
  6. Rose, Ruth A. (2012-09-18). Norfolk, Virginia. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9781439627631.
  7. Kelly, Wilhelmena Rhodes (2007). Bedford-Stuyvesant. Arcadia Publishing. p. 61. ISBN 9780738550046.
  8. Forbes, Ella (2013-01-11). African American Women During the Civil War. Routledge. ISBN 9781136712814.
  9. "Women Who Can Keep a Secret". The Sun. 1888-05-06. p. 5. Retrieved 2017-10-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Armstrong, R.D. (1986-02-16). "United Order of Tents Has Annual Banquet". The Evening Telegram. p. 42. Retrieved 2017-10-18 – via Newspapers.com.
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