Ensley, Elizabeth Piper, 1847-1919

Elizabeth Piper Ensley (January 19, 1847 – February 23, 1919), was an educator and an African-American suffragist.[1] Born in Massachusetts, Ensley was a teacher on the eastern coast of the country. She moved to Colorado where she achieved prominence as a leader in the Colorado suffrage movement. She was also a journalist, activist, and a leader and founder of local women's clubs.
Upon returning from Europe on December 22, 1870,[9] she established a circulating library in Boston[1][10] and became a public school teacher,[10] working in Trenton, New Jersey.[8] From 1882 to 1883, Elizabeth was a member of the faculty of Howard University.[8][14] She taught at Alcorn State University in Mississippi before moving to Denver.[15][1] Ensley was the Denver correspondent for the Woman's Era, the national publication of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs (NACWC) by 1894,[17] when she reported on the first election in which women could vote.[18] It was the first monthly newspaper published by and for African-American woman.[9]
Relief efforts
Due to the Silver Panic of 1893, miners who had lost their jobs were in Denver with their families.[9] In Colorado, Elizabeth joined Denver's relief efforts for the poor and the homeless,[1] contacting people that she knew in Washington, D.C. and Boston to help fund relief efforts.[9]

Suffrage and politics
Women had the right to vote in school board elections, but not in other elections, in accordance with the state constitution of 1876.[9] Inspired by her experiences with the women's suffrage groups in Boston, Elizabeth joined the campaign to put a women's suffrage amendment on the November 1893 ballot in Colorado,[1] so that women could vote in all elections.[9] She was the treasurer of the Colorado Non-Partisan Equal Suffrage Association, and beginning with a fund of 25 dollars, helped gain the money necessary for the campaign.[1] Ensley worked to persuade African-American men to vote in favor of voting rights for women.[19] The suffrage amendment was approved in November 1893, making Colorado the second state to grant voting rights to women.[1]

Alongside Ida Clark DePriest,[20] she organized the Colorado Colored Women's Republican Club to teach African-American women to be educated voters.[1] While she identified most with the Republican Party, she wrote that "there should be thorough and systematic organization of the women of all parties."[21][22]

She established the Women's League in 1894 to inform black women how to vote, communicate the importance of voting, and communicate the nature of the issues.[9][17] She was also very involved in ensuring equality for all and civil rights.[9]

Women's clubs
She founded the Colorado Association of Colored Women's Clubs (CACW) in 1904,[17] which created a stronger alliance by joining eight organizations throughout Colorado.[23] The CACW led community and educational programs, including the George Washington Carver Day Nursery.[1] Ensley served as the second Vice President of the Colorado State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs. She delivered an address to the Federation in 1906 titled "Women and the Ballot."[24] Ensley was the only African-American member of the predominantly white board of the Colorado Federation of Women's Clubs.[1]