In 1923, black women may not have been all that organized, BUT ~ the black press was very much alive and well. The fact that white folks were not especially aware of it doesn't mean squat; black folks all over the country regularly read newspapers (many of them weeklies rather than dailies, I believe) based in Chicago, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, New York (Harlem, of course) and other cities.

The great African-American migration from southern farms to northern factories was largely prompted by articles and ads in these papers, alerting propective migrants to job opportunities. The papers also reported national news of special interest to their readership, and of course took editorial positions and published opinion pieces.

Segregation was certainly not a good thing, of course, and had to end sooner or later; however, the flawed Jim Crow system did create a separate and unequal society that provided opportunites for black individuals and institutions that,in some cases, are less available in today's imperfectly integrated society. The editors and columnists at those nearly-forgotten newspapers are one example.