African American Women Suffragists and Their Struggle Essay Example

groups, however, most did exclude them, if their participation was permitted in the organization their presence there or any involvement was often omitted unless it was seen as useful or beneficial to their cause, this forced African American women to form their own organizations and conventions. With the formation of the American Equal Rights Association many African American women worked under the direction of founders Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton; AERA was formed in support of equal rights and suffrage for all citizens regardless of their race or sex. Among the women in leadership in AERA was Sojourner Truth, Sarah Remond, and Harriet Purvis. This group would later disassemble and become the NWSA and the AWSA.

After the conclusion of AERA it was very clear that white women suffragist had differing ideas, plans, and strategies from the African American woman suffragist. In 1866 the Philadelphia Suffrage Association was formed, it too was interracial, they often gave lectures to further educate and promote suffrage. The PSA “identified the female reformers quest for ‘rights’ with the quest for the ballot,” according to Rosalyn Terborg-Penn (25). African American women that were involved in politics and the suffrage movement wore multiple hats and the veteran feminist and suffragist were often leaders or prominent influences in multiple organizations.

Hattie Purvis, Jr. was the first African American woman to be elected vice president of the NWSA and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was a guest speaker at the National Women’s Rights Convention in Massachusetts. Although female African American attendance was lower in the early years of the movement it later grew to larger numbers of black female feminists, suffragist, and nationalist toward

the end of the movement. After the emancipation of slaves African American women engaged politics more because some states gave voting rights to African American men, and although they couldn’t vote themselves they were often involved politically to help their husbands further the betterment of African American lives and communities. Even if in a crucial role politically, African American women stayed behind the scenes, out of public the eye, behind their husband because they couldn’t do much more being disenfranchised as woman and it was often viewed better publicly for the suffrage movement.

There were multiple and differing strategies among all the suffrage organations, some of them along similar lines, some started out along similar lines but then disagreed on one thing, or some entirely different and focused on other important priorities, which often led to new organizations that formed from previous ones. The second and third generation of black women suffragist were more educated and were most often the daughters or nieces of well known veteran African American suffragist. These women were raised with awareness from the beginning of their development and grew up in the churches and organizations that supported black suffrage, black women’s rights, education, and bettering the African American community. These women were often crucial in the efforts put forth by black women who supported women’s suffrage, they were educated, writers, poets, journalists, teachers, and knew the history of the movement from creation.

The second and third generation of suffragists were able to become prominent African American leaders because their faces and involvement were established at a young age. This was only one of many strategies used by African American suffragist and feminists

on the long journey and battle to universal suffrage and equality. A strategy often employed by African American women was to go through their communities and collect signatures for petitions. These petitions were in support of passing amendments for the rights of women suffrage and universal suffrage as well as education and race equality that was being revised by the current political parties leaders in office. These petitions put forth were originally a generic letter that was created by churches to be used in more than one case, it wasn’t until the second and third generations of African American women suffragists that the petitions grew to be examples of the educated and well versed poets, journalists, and feminists they became to be. Some women used and relied on donations from organizations or churches to travel the states and further educate the public on not only women’s suffrage, but black men’s as well, and republican politics.

One of these women was Mary Ann Shadd Cary who took her children with her as she traveled to further the movement of reform showing the dedication, inequality, and class differences between African American women and white women suffragists. African American women often sacrificed being married, having children, and falling into that wife-mother role for the benefit and furthering of the suffrage movement. They also often gave guidance and input into their husbands political ventures, being large contributors to their husbands success and the suffrage movement, but stayed behind the scenes politically and sometimes at the request of suffrage organizations to better their chances of acceptance and success. There was a large number of suffragist that started in the abolition movement

and their goals and ideas varied on what strategy was best to get the desired results. Some thought that the male African American vote was the key to their reform success but would later bounce back and forth between this strategy, in the North there were larger numbers of black and white suffragist that were in support of universal suffrage, and then there were the differing ideas and opinions of African American women.

After the end of AERA it was painfully clear that African American women’s view on women’s suffrage differed greatly from that of their fellow white women suffragists (Terborg-Penn 36). African American women wanted women’s suffrage but they also wanted African American men’s suffrage and just as important black women’s rights and betterment for their communites. They were often put in a place which made them torn between choosing racial priorities over gender priorities, but their life and their vote was just as important as white women and African American men. African American women combined rights for black women to vote with civil rights for all African Americans, while also creating specifically designed details for black women needs. The new generation of suffragist used ideas from veteran suffragists Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anothony to foster in the newest suffrage strategy that was being called the “New Departure” (Terborg-Penn 37).

African American women joined in with other white suffragists in Vineland, New Jersey to set up mock ballots where voting was taking place. In other states women tried registering to vote and cast a ballot on election day, all unsuccessfully, but in Washington, D.C. the women who tried to vote demanded they receive affidavits

stating their attempt to vote and they were granted. The women of D.C. also were not fined or arrested like other women suffragist were including the women in Rochester, NY who were under the guidance and leadership of veteran Susan B. Anthony. Victoria Woodhull motivated black and white suffragist to enact the “strategy” which she also was calling the “New Departure.” Marry Ann Shadd Cary applied the 14th and 15th amendments to both African American men and women, she later would eventually side with the running commonality among women suffragist that the word “male” should be removed from the 14th amendment, women were after all tax payers like men and should therefore have the right to vote.