Black women activists in the 19th century made important contributions to the abolition and women’s suffrage movements, in no small part because of their strong Christian commitment. They are just a few in a long line of “doers of the Word”; African-American women who led courageously from the margins despite socio-cultural restraints we cannot even imagine today.
Julia A. J. Foote 1823-1900
The daughter of former slaves, Foote fully embraced the Christian faith at age 15. As a young adult she began preaching, despite the misgivings of her parents, husband, and even her pastor. As biographer Tonya Bolden notes Foote “preached up a storm: early on in New York, New England and the Mid-Atlantic states, and later, in Michigan, Ohio and Canada”. Speaking to crowds of both white and Black Americans, she frequently spoke out against racism and sexism. She was the first woman to be ordained a deacon (1894) and the second to be ordained an elder (1900) in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. When she met opposition, Foote simply argued that “her call came from God; therefore, what ‘man’ had to say was irrelevant, because she answered to a higher calling” (Williams, p. 169).
Favorite Quote:
When Paul said, ‘Help those women who labor with me in the Gospel,’ he certainly meant that they did more than to pour out tea!”
Amanda Berry Smith 1837-1915
Born as a slave in Maryland and oldest of 13 children, Smith’s father purchased her family’s freedom before the Civil War by selling brooms made late at night after his other duties were completed. They moved to Pennsylvania where their home became a station on the Underground Railroad. Smith began preaching in NYC area during her early 30s and soon became a well-known speaker to both Black and white audiences, earning her the nicknames “The Singing Pilgrim” and “God’s Image Carved in Ebony”. She went on to spend 14 years on the mission field, evangelizing in England, India and Africa. For more on some of the miraculous circumstances and the impact of her ministry: check out this link.
Favorite Quote:
The thought of ordination had never once entered my mind, for I had received my ordination from Him, who said, “ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you might go and bring forth fruit'”.
Ida B. Wells-Barnett 1862-1931
Born a slave in Mississippi, Wells’ family was freed the next year under the Emancipation Proclamation. When her parents and youngest sibling died of yellow fever, she went to work as a teacher so that the remaining siblings could stay together. She went on to become an investigative journalist and an influential anti-lynching crusader. “Petite in stature but a powerhouse of courage and determination, she lectured up and down the East Coast, establishing anti-lynching organizations and black women’s clubs” (source). While not a “preacher” like some on this list, her autobiography depicts a woman of faith who taught Sunday School and organized church-related community development efforts. In 1896, she founded the National Association of Colored Women and became increasingly devoted to the rights of women and children.
Favorite Quote:
The appeal to the white man’s pocket has ever been more effectual than all the appeals ever made to his conscience.”
(I’ve been contemplating how we might apply this today to effect change…)
Anna Julia Cooper 1858-1964
Born into slavery in North Carolina, after emancipation Cooper went on to earn B.A. and M.A. degrees at Oberlin as well as a Ph.D. late in life at the Sorbonne in Paris. She had a long career as a teacher and principal, and was well-known for her speaking on both civil rights and the women’s movement. In her book A Voice from the South she argued that “the educational, moral, and spiritual progress of Black women would improve the general standing of the entire African-American community” (source) . Cooper may be best known for her address to the predominately white World’s Congress of Representative Women in Chicago in 1893, from which the quote below is taken.
Favorite Quote:
The colored woman feels that woman’s cause is one and universal; and that not till the image of God, whether in parian or ebony, is sacred and inviolable; not till race, color, sex, and condition are seen as the accidents, and not the substance of life; not till the universal title of humanity to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is conceded to be inalienable to all; not till then is woman’s lesson taught and woman’s cause won…”
Sojourner Truth c. 1797-1883
Sojourner was born a slave and had an exceptionally dismal life, being sold several times and badly mistreated. Later in life she managed to escape along with her youngest child and soon after became a devout Christian. In 1843 she began traveling and preaching; always advocating for abolition. Truth developed into a gifted speaker who proclaimed the gospel message boldly, and was also known for her outspokenness on women’s rights. Her extemporaneous speech, “Ain’t I a Woman?“, was delivered in 1851 at the Ohio Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, causing her to become one of the most celebrated and controversial itinerant preachers of her era.
Favorite Quote:
If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.”
In theirstudy of Black women’s leadership Ngunjiri, Gramby-Sobukwe, and Williams-Gegner note that “early preaching Black women were radical in their commitment to consistent egalitarianism and social justice within the Black church and community as well as society at large” (p. 88) and refer to them as “tempered radicals”:
They were tempered in that they shared with their male counterparts a common commitment to Christianity, yet the women also represented, by their very presence as “preaching women,” a new interpretation of scripture, which threatened not only the power of men but the social priorities of the Black community.” (p. 88)
Like these “tempered radicals” who have gone before us, egalitarians share with all believers a common commitment to Christ and the authority of the scriptures, while at the same time advocating for the full inclusion of women in the pulpit and at all levels of church leadership.
May their examples of courage and persistence embolden us to continue pursuing issues of gender equality and justice in the church.
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Note to Readers: The words African American and black are used interchangeably in academia when referring to people of African descent in this time period, and I’ve chosen to keep the original wording in the quotes presented. I apologize if any of these terms are are offensive in your context.
References:
Ngunjiri, F.W., Gramby-Sobukwe, S., and K. Williams-Gegner. (2012), Tempered Radicals: Black Women’s Leadership in the Church and Community, The Journal of Pan African Studies V5 (2), April 2012: 84-109.
Schetcher, Patricia. (2000). Ida Wells-Barnett and American Reform 1880-1830. University of North Carolina Press.
Reading List:
Righteous Content: Black Women’s Perspectives of Church and Faith, Daphne Wiggins, 2005.
An End to This Strife: The Politics of Gender in African American Churches, Demetrius K. Williams, 2004.
*Photo Credit: http://www.gildedageincolor.com/?page_id=26 Thanks to Keith Stokes, Vice President of 1696 Heritage Group for the information about the photo above. Mr. Stokes has been an Advisor for the National Trust for Historic Preservation along with serving on numerous regional and national historic preservation boards including Touro Synagogue Foundation, Preservation Society for Newport County, and Newport Historical Society. Newport, Rhode Island was the location of the first organized African American women’s organization. The Free African Women’s Benevolent Society was charted in 1808 by 10 free African women.
16 Comments
Haha, African American and Black are pretty much interchangeable in interracial discourses. You can use either in writing, it simply differs when talking with certain people. Some prefer “black” whereas others prefer “African-American.” Note that African-American may connotate diasporic African descendants of those brought here by the Middle-Passage, it also implies African-immigrants and non-black Africans as well. The term black only becomes offensive when people go out of their way not to say it around black people but in the presence of non-black people they will use it all the time. It’s ridiculous. The only offensive/dated terms are negro and n*gger (and its variants.)
Thank you, Hreen! That is very helpful 🙂
A comment on the editorial decision to use the photo of five other, unnamed women at the top of this article. This is misleading to me. Surely there must be drawings or photos of some of these women in the article? Better to use no illustration than this one.
I agree that it was misleading, which is why I included the note. It was frustrating not to have the time to find out who these suffragists actually were, which is probably related to the fact that most of them lived 75-100 years ago! I take full responsibility. We had a family emergency this past weekend that is still resolving, but when I have time I will see if I can add more photos of the women mentioned. I appreciate you keeping me accountable!
I would add Jerena Lee, gifted preacher and evangelist. http://krwordgazer.blogspot.com/2013/11/forgotten-women-in-church-history.html
YES! I actually was going to use Jerena as number five, but a family emergency came up and I went with Sojourner, as I was more familiar with her story. Love your post! EVERYONE CLICK ON THE LINK!
Imagine what she could have done if she had full and equal rights and opportunities. I can’t help but wonder how much the patriarchal model separates the interests of feminists and the larger movement against racism, that seems to have been in harmony during much of the time before abolition. We stand together. As One.
Exactly! And I didn’t go into in the post since the purpose was to highlight the women, but there are some very sad stories about conflict between Black and White feminists in the history of the movement. There are also stories of both coming together for the cause.
It’s interesting to note that while privileged woman are often convinced/cowed into submission in the complementarian sense in the world of the Church, those with nothing to lose are often much more bold and courageous in stepping out to be who God has called them to be, without apology.
I have read of many of these women and often, although not entirely, those who step forward with strength and determination are those with very little to lose in terms of reputation… the laying down of one’s life, which many literally have done, is apparently more easy to do when one’s life is just about all one has to offer.
Amen! Amen!
This is a fantastic glimpse into the lives of some incredibly brave and gifted African American women! Thank you! Your quote from Julia Foote was interesting as I have been reading More Than Serving Tea and the inner conflicts that come from being Christian, Asian and a woman in the American church which of course I identify with being half Asian, half white American. Years ago I also decided to quit going to the Women of Faith conferences in Portland because I did not see any women of color in the audiences. That really disturbed me. Your article inspires me to consider how to stand more actively with my sisters of all colors.
Harriet, I’ve been meaning to read More than Serving Tea, so that was a good reminder to pick it up. When the whole “conference speaker controversy” came up recently, I wondered about women’s conferences. With less women available as conference speakers overall, and with those women being spread then, I would imagine this is a challenge. Add to that the reality that women have to worry about childcare arrangements that men usually don’t even have to think about when accepting a speaking invitation, and you can see how the system lends itself to imbalance. But the times they are achanging!
Beautiful, Gail. I just recently finished reading Sue Monk Kidd’s “The Invention of Wings.” What an amazing story…we owe our African American sisters such a debt of love….
So true, Peggy. I had not heard of that book – I’m intrigued!