Juneteenth: 7 Lesser-known black abolitionists
2.Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1825, to free black parents who died when she was young. She would be adopted by an aunt and uncle.
Harper grew up to become a writer and lecturer, becoming the first female instructor at Union Seminary in Wilberforce, Ohio. Later, she became active in the abolitionist cause.
Harper wrote poetry for multiple antislavery publications, and worked as a traveling lecturer on behalf of the Maine Anti-Slavery Society and the Pennsylvania Anti-Slavery Society.
“In 1866, Harper spoke at the National Woman’s Rights Convention in New York. Her famous speech entitled, ‘We Are All Bound Up Together,’ urged her fellow attendees to include African American women in their fight for suffrage,” noted The National Women’s History Museum.
“Harper spent the rest of her career working for the pursuit of equal rights, job opportunities, and education for African American women. She was a co-founder and vice president of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, and the director of the American Association of Colored Youth.”
