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Jul 1, 20204 min read

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper- The Mother of African American Journalism


'We are all bound up up together in one great bundle of humanity, and society cannot trample on the weakest and feeblest of its members without receiving the curse on its own soul'


Frances Ellen Watkins was born on September 24th, 1825, Baltimore, Maryland. She was born to free African American parents, but was raised by her aunt and uncle after her mother died when she was three. She well educated and had a lot of access to literature as a child, and young adult, she attended her uncle, William Watkins, school for free black children ‘The Academy for Negro Youth’, and began working as a tutor at 13. William Watkins was a teacher and a civil rights activist, he had clear political and social views and was a devout Christian. This gave Harper an understanding of politics and of the Civil Rights movement from a young age. Harper wrote frequently for anti-slavery publications such as the ‘Frederick Douglass’ paper, which was a weekly newspaper focussed on anti-slavery. She would later became known as the 'Mother of African American Journalism'. In 1850 she moved from Baltimore to Ohio and taught for 2 years at the Union Seminary school, she was the first women to teach there and was met with a harsh welcome by many of the students, parents and staff due to both her race and gender. In 1852 she took another teaching position in Pennsylvania, this changed her life. Although Harper was very aware of legal slavery and the suffering of African Americans, the racism and open discrimination surrounding her was shocking and intensified her Civil Rights views. She became heavily involved with the Underground Railroad which worked to free slaves, slaves would be picked up by a guide known as a conductor, a conductor would help slaves escape and take them to free states such as Pennsylvania or to Canada where slavery was abolished, when escaping slaves would stay in safe houses, known as ‘stations’. Harper ran a ‘station’ putting herself at great risk as she allowed slaves to stay in her home. She also began publicly lecturing, she educated people on racism, classism and sexism within the country and was well known as an outstanding orator (public speaker). In 1860 she married Fenton Harper, he already had three children and in 1862 they had a daughter called Mary Frances Harper. Fenton died in 1864 of heart failure in Philadelphia, in response to his death Haper wrote the poem “Bury Me in a Free Land” she supported her daughter mostly through public speaking, it is unknown what happened to Fenton’s other children.

After the American Civil War ended in 1865 slavery was made illegal across the US under the 13th Amendment and in 1870 the 15th Amendment was passed giving African American men the right to vote. However this didn't really work, after the Civil War the Reconstruction Era took place. The Reconstruction Era gave more power to individual states, many southern states introduced 'black codes' known as Jim Crow laws, these laws worked around the 13th and 15th Amendment to restrict true equality between races, the laws mostly focussed on segregation although they also effected voting rights. The laws prevented many African American men from voting, in order to vote you had to pay and pass a literacy test. Many African American men had just been released from slavery, they did not have the money to pay or the education to pass a literacy test. Jim Crow laws ensured that most African American men still didn't have the right to vote meaning the fight for equality was not over, Harper dove further into her activism. Like many women she also pointed out that the 15th Amendment only applied to men, her freedom was restricted not just by her race but by her gender. Harper became a member of a number of activist groups including the Coloured Section of the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania ‘Women’s Christian Temperance Union’ and the ‘American Women’s Suffrage Association’. She was also the co-founder and vice president of the ‘National Association of Coloured Women’, and the director of the ‘American Association of Coloured Youth’. On occasion she would collaborate with white feminist groups as she believed that as women they shared some struggles. Collaborating with white female suffrage groups was a conflicting issue at the time, many black women chose to side with their race rather than gender in order not to distract from the black male suffrage fight. Harper supported this point of view stating that “black males must have the right to vote and that the plight of the black woman was more related to race than gender”, she always sided with her race, but in defence of sometimes collaborated with white female suffrage groups she stated that, she ‘[Harper] spoke not as an African American and not as a woman but always as an African American woman who recognised that for most Americans race was a key definer of their existence….’ (see bellow for information on the highlighted quotes). On February 22nd, 1911 she died of heart failure and was buried next to her daughter at the Eden Cemetery in Philadelphia. Harper was known mostly for her poetry, all of which was collected and edited by Maryemma Graham in 1988 called ‘Complete Poems of Frances E.W. Harper’. Francis also published several novels the most famous being 'Lola Leroy' published in 1892. She was the first African American to publish a short story called “The Two Offers”. On top of this she also released a prose (a language technique that is written to reflect the natural flow of speech) called “A brighter Coming Day” in 1990. Frances used her writing as a way of expressing her activism, she often explored themes of racism, sexism, and classism in the everyday life of an African American Woman, both before and after the civil war.


Quote Information:

Both highlighted quotes are from Collier-Thomas and Gordon, I found them in the Archives of Maryland which is linked bellowed I would recommend reading if you have the time -https://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc3500/sc3520/012400/012499/html/12499bio.html#17

American reconstruction era information:

- Information on reconstruction era-https://www.ushistory.org/us/35.asp

Francis Harper General Information:

- IOWA State University- Frances Ellen Watkins Harper- https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/directory/frances-ellen-watkins-harper/

History.com,When did African Americans Actually get the right to vote- https://www.history.com/news/african-american-voting-right-15th-amendment

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