Lide Meriwether

Lide Smith Meriwether (October 16, 1829 – September 28, 1913) was a leader of the first generation of feminists and women's rights activists. She lobbied for prohibition, raising the legal age of consent, and woman's suffrage. Meriwether was president of the Tennessee Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) from 1884 to 1897, and then as an honorary president for life. In 1889, she organized the first Equal Rights Association in Memphis, and served as president of the Tennessee Equal Rights Association from 1897 to 1900, and subsequently was made honorary president for life.

Early life Lide Meriwether (née Lide Parker Smith) was born in Columbus, Ohio, on October 16, 1829, while her parents were visiting away from their home in Virginia. Her father was a prominent educator, and her mother died a few days after her birth. She and her sister attended school at the Emma Willard Seminary (later known as the Washington Female Seminary) in Washington, Pennsylvania, which was run by Sarah Foster Hanna, a graduate of the famous Troy Female Seminary. Soon after graduation, the sisters headed west and became teachers in Memphis, Tennessee. In 1856 she married Niles Meriwether, with whom she had three daughters.

Meriwether's evolution as a feminist social reformer began later in life, in response to the "stage of disorder" resulting from the Civil War and Reconstruction in the South, where prostitution in Memphis remained a viable source of income for poor women and girls. The plight of these women spurred a new chapter of feminism to fight back against female degradation, which included concerns of sexually transmitted diseases, out-of-wedlock births, and sexual abuse of minors.

Women's Christian Temperance Union In the 1880s, Meriwether became highly active, touring the state and founding local chapters of the WCTU, including unions of African American women. Meriwether spearheaded the first efforts to organize black women chapters, and in 1886 she presided over one of the first interracial meetings in Memphis. Many participating well-educated young black women found common ground with their white counterparts through these meetings, anxious to participate in reform they deemed essential to the future progress of their race. By 1887, there were 14 African American women WCTU unions in Tennessee, and two black women attended the state WCTU convention, reporting much success. She was already president of the state WCTU, and at the age of 65 decided to step down from the former position to take on the new one. She was subsequently named honorary president for life of the Tennessee WCTU.