For women, freedom meant that they were in charge of their

own homes.

They have privacy.

They didn't have to tolerate abuse.

They can devote themselves to the care of their own family and households.

Instead of those of white people.

The families became more secure.

They didn't have to live in fear of being separated.

They could get married but formally enslaved people

were poor.

Freed women often did work for whites to make extra

money.

During slavery whites had depended upon enslaved

women to take care of the laundry.

After emancipation many black women did washing for whites to make extra money.

Now they were paid for their labor and they had bargaining power

to determine wages and hours.

Washing clothes by hand was a backbreaking task.

You got to keep on rinsing till the water cleared.

If the water cloudy you just march back to the pop and

tote another tub of water.

I pump water to my arm pure wore out.

The money brought in by freed women made a huge difference in the survival of

their families in the early years of freedom and beyond.

A stable family life became a part of the foundation of the

black community.

And black women's contributions went well beyond economics.

Once freed from bondage black women became a driving force in African American

life at every level.

Establishing benevolent associations, orphanages, homes for the elderly,

and schools.