The race man and woman represented a type of black leadership during Jim Crow. Proud of the race, they defended it with dignity. Neither accepting the permanence of segregation nor begging crumbs from whites, they condemned white supremacists and Uncle Toms alike. They advocated black self-help as well as interracial cooperation and peaceful protest for civil rights. Always mindful of the disadvantaged, they urged elite blacks to prioritize economic and educational programs that assist and secure less fortunate blacks. Race women in the National Association of Colored Women not only espoused respectability but also provided childcare and other services, living their motto “Lifting as We Climb.”