The Colored Women's League (CWL) of Washington D.C was a woman’s club, organized by a group of African-American women in June 1892, with Mrs. Helen A. Cook as President. The primary mission of this organization was the national union of colored women. In 1896, the Colored Women's League and the Federation of Afro-American Women merged to form the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), with Mary Church Terrell as the first president.