Anna Julia Haywood Cooper
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Anna Julia Haywood Cooper (August 10, 1858February 27, 1964) was an American author, educator, sociologist, speaker, Black liberation activist, and one of the most prominent
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...
scholars in United States history. Born into slavery in 1858, Cooper went on to receive a world-class education and claim power and prestige in academic and social circles. In 1924, she received her PhD from the
Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...
, University of Paris. Cooper became the fourth African-American woman to earn a doctoral degree. She was also a prominent member of Washington, D.C.'s African-American community and a member of
Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen stud ...
sorority. Cooper made contributions to social science fields, particularly in sociology. Her first book, '' A Voice from the South: By a Black Woman of the South'', is widely acknowledged as one of the first articulations of
Black feminism Black feminism is a philosophy that centers on the idea that "Black women are inherently valuable, that lack women'sliberation is a necessity not as an adjunct to somebody else's but because our need as human persons for autonomy." Race, gen ...
, giving Cooper the often-used title of "the Mother of Black Feminism".


Biography


Childhood

Anna "Annie" Julia Haywood was born enslaved in
Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...
, in 1858. She and her mother, Hannah Stanley Haywood, were held in bondage by George Washington Haywood (1802–1890), one of the sons of North Carolina's longest serving state Treasurer John Haywood, who helped found the
University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
, but whose estate later was forced to repay missing funds. Either George, in whose household her mother worked in bondage, or his brother, Dr. Fabius Haywood, in whose household her older brother Andrew was enslaved, was probably Anna's father; Anna's mother refused to clarify paternity. George became state attorney for
Wake County, North Carolina Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...
and with a brother owned a plantation in
Greene County, Alabama Greene County is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,730, the least populous county in Alabama. Its county seat is Eutaw. It was named in honor of Revolutionar ...
. Cooper worked as a domestic servant in the Haywood home and had two older brothers, Andrew J. Haywood and Rufus Haywood. Andrew, enslaved by Fabius J. Haywood, later served in the
Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...
. Rufus was also born enslaved and became the leader of the musical group ''Stanley's Band''.


Education

In 1868, when Cooper was nine years old, she received a scholarship and began her education at the newly opened Saint Augustine's Normal School and Collegiate Institute in Raleigh, founded by the local Episcopal diocese for the purpose of training teachers to educate the formerly enslaved and their families. The Reverend J. Brinton offered Cooper a scholarship to help pay for her expenses. According to Mark S. Giles, a Cooper biographer, "the educational levels offered at St. Augustine ranged from primary to high school, including trade-skill training." During her 14 years at St. Augustine's, she distinguished herself as a bright and ambitious student who showed equal promise in both liberal arts and analytical disciplines such as mathematics and science; her subjects included languages (Latin, French, Greek), English literature, math, and science. Although the school had a special track reserved for women – dubbed the "Ladies' Course" – and the administration actively discouraged women from pursuing higher-level courses, Cooper fought for her right to take a course reserved for men, by demonstrating her scholastic ability. During this period, St. Augustine's pedagogical emphasis was on training young men for the ministry and preparing them for additional training at four-year universities. One of these men, George A. C. Cooper, would later become her husband. He died after only two years of marriage. Cooper's academic excellence enabled her to work as a tutor for younger children, which also helped her pay for her educational expenses. After completing her studies, she remained at the institution as an instructor. In the 1883–1884 school year, she taught classics, modern history, higher English, and vocal and instrumental music; she is not listed as faculty in the 1884–1885 year, but in the 1885–1886 year she is listed as "Instructor in Classic, Rhetoric, Etc." Her husband's early death may have contributed to her ability to continue teaching; if she had stayed married, she might have been encouraged or required to withdraw from the university to become a housewife. After her husband's death, Cooper entered
Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...
in Ohio, where she continued to follow the course of study designated for men, graduating in 1884. Given her academic qualifications, she was admitted as a sophomore. She often attempted to take four classes, rather than three as was prescribed by the college; she also was attracted to Oberlin by its reputation for music, but was unable to take as many classes in piano as she would have wished. Among her classmates were fellow black women
Ida Gibbs Ida Alexander Gibbs Hunt (November 16, 1862 – December 19, 1957) was an advocate of racial and gender equality and co-founded one of the first YWCAs in Washington, D.C. for African-Americans in 1905. She was the daughter of Judge Mifflin Wist ...
(later Hunt) and
Mary Church Terrell Mary Church Terrell (born Mary Eliza Church; September 23, 1863 – July 24, 1954) was one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree, and became known as a national activist for civil rights and suffrage. She taught in the Lati ...
. At Oberlin, Cooper was part of the "LLS", "one of the two literary societies for women, whose regular programs featured lectures by distinguished speakers as well as singers and orchestras". After teaching briefly at
Wilberforce College Wilberforce College is a further education Sixth Form College in Hull, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies nort ...
, she returned to St. Augustine's in 1885. She then went back to Oberlin and earned an M.A. in mathematics in 1888, making her one of the first two black women – along with Mary Church Terrell, who received her M.A. in the same year - to earn a master's degree. In 1890–91 she published an essay on "Higher Education of Women", which argued for the benefits of black women being trained in classical literature, referring to both
Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...
and
Sappho Sappho (; el, Σαπφώ ''Sapphō'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; c. 630 – c. 570 BC) was an Archaic Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her Greek lyric, lyric poetry, written to be sung while ...
among her examples, and demonstrated an interest in access to education which would inform much of her later career. In writing this essay, she preceded W. E. B. Du Bois' similar arguments in "Of the Training of Black Men" (''Souls of Black Folk'' 1903) by almost a decade. In 1900 she made her first trip to Europe, to participate in the
First Pan-African Conference The First Pan-African Conference was held in London from 23 to 25 July 1900 (just prior to the Paris Exhibition of 1900 "in order to allow tourists of African descent to attend both events").Ramla Bandele"Pan-African Conference in 1900", Article ...
in London. After visiting the cathedral towns of Scotland and England, she went to Paris for the
World Exposition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
. "After a week at the Exposition she went to
Oberammergau Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The small town on the Ammer River is known for its woodcarvers and woodcarvings, for its NATO School, and around the world for its 380-year tradition of ...
to see the Passion Play, thence to Munich and other German towns, and then to Italy through Rome, Naples, Venice, Pompeii, Mt. Vesuvius, and Florence."


Washington DC years

She later moved to Washington, DC. In 1892, Anna Cooper,
Helen Appo Cook Helen Appo Cook (July 21, 1837 – November 20, 1913) was a wealthy, prominent African-American community activist in Washington, D.C. and a leader in the women's club movement. Cook was a founder and president of the Colored Women's League ...
,
Ida B. Wells Ida B. Wells (full name: Ida Bell Wells-Barnett) (July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931) was an American investigative journalist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement. She was one of the founders of the National Association for ...
,
Charlotte Forten Grimké Charlotte Louise Bridges Forten Grimké (August 17, 1837 – July 23, 1914) was an African American anti-slavery activist, poet, and educator. She grew up in a prominent abolitionist family in Philadelphia. She taught school for years, including d ...
, Mary Jane Peterson,
Mary Church Terrell Mary Church Terrell (born Mary Eliza Church; September 23, 1863 – July 24, 1954) was one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree, and became known as a national activist for civil rights and suffrage. She taught in the Lati ...
, and Evelyn Shaw formed the
Colored Women's League The Colored Women's League (CWL) of Washington, D.C., was a woman's club, organized by a group of African-American women in June 1892, with Helen Appo Cook as president. The primary mission of this organization was the national union of colored ...
in Washington, D.C. The goals of the service-oriented club were to promote unity, social progress and the best interests of the African-American community. Helen Cook was elected president. Cooper would develop a close friendship with
Charlotte Forten Grimké Charlotte Louise Bridges Forten Grimké (August 17, 1837 – July 23, 1914) was an African American anti-slavery activist, poet, and educator. She grew up in a prominent abolitionist family in Philadelphia. She taught school for years, including d ...
– Cooper began teaching Latin at
M Street High School M Street High School, also known as Perry School, is a historic former school building located in the Northwest Quadrant of Washington, D.C. It has been listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites since 1978 and it was listed on ...
, becoming principal in 1901. Busby, Margaret, "Anna J. Cooper", ''
Daughters of Africa ''Daughters of Africa: An International Anthology of Words and Writings by Women of African Descent from the Ancient Egyptian to the Present'' is a compilation of orature and literature by more than 200 women from Africa and the African diaspora, ...
'', London: Jonathan Cape, 1992, p. 136.
She later became entangled in a controversy involving the differing attitudes about black education, as she advocated for a model of classical education espoused by W. E. B. Du Bois, "designed to prepare eligible students for higher education and leadership", rather than the vocational program that was promoted by
Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...
. As a result of this, she left the school. Later, she was recalled to M Street, and she fit her work on her doctoral thesis into "nooks and crannies of free time".


''A Voice from the South''

During her years as a teacher and principal at M Street High School, Cooper also completed her first book, titled ''
A Voice from the South ''A Voice from the South: By a Black Woman of the South'' is the first book by American author, educator, and activist Anna J. Cooper. First published in 1892, the book is widely viewed as one of the first articulations of Black feminism. Busby ...
: By a Black Woman of the South'', published in 1892, and delivered many speeches calling for civil rights and women's rights. Perhaps her most well-known volume of writing, ''A Voice from the South,'' is widely viewed as one of the first articulations of black feminism. The book advanced a vision of self-determination through education and social uplift for African-American women. Its central thesis was that the educational, moral, and spiritual progress of black women would improve the general standing of the entire African-American community. She says that the violent natures of men often run counter to the goals of higher education, so it is important to foster more female intellectuals because they will bring more elegance to education. This view was criticized by some as submissive to the 19th-century cult of true womanhood, but others label it as one of the most important arguments for black feminism in the 19th century. Cooper advanced the view that it was the duty of educated and successful black women to support their underprivileged peers in achieving their goals. The essays in ''A Voice from the South'' also touched on a variety of topics, such as race and
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
, gender, the socioeconomic realities of black families, and the administration of the Episcopal Church.


Reception

''A Voice from the South'' received significant praise from leaders in the black community.


Later years

Cooper was an author, educator, and public speaker. In 1893, she delivered a paper titled "The Intellectual Progress of the Colored Women of the United States since the Emancipation Proclamation" at the
World's Congress of Representative Women The World's Congress of Representative Women was a week-long convention for the voicing of women's concerns, held within The Woman's Building (Chicago), The Woman's Building of the World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago, May 1893). At 81 meetings, ...
in Chicago. She was one of five African-American women invited to speak at this event, along with:
Fannie Barrier Williams Frances "Fannie" Barrier Williams (February 12, 1855 – March 4, 1944) was an African American educator, civil rights, and women's rights activist, and the first black woman to gain membership to the Chicago Woman's Club. She became well kno ...
,
Sarah Jane Woodson Early Sarah Jane Woodson Early, born Sarah Jane Woodson (November 15, 1825 – August 1907), was an American educator, black nationalist, temperance activist and author. A graduate of Oberlin College, where she majored in classics, she was hired at W ...
, Hallie Quinn Brown, and
Fanny Jackson Coppin Fanny Jackson Coppin (October 15, 1837 – January 21, 1913) was an American educator, missionary and lifelong advocate for female higher education. One of the first Black alumnae of Oberlin College, she served as principal of the Institute for C ...
. Cooper was also present at the
first Pan-African Conference The First Pan-African Conference was held in London from 23 to 25 July 1900 (just prior to the Paris Exhibition of 1900 "in order to allow tourists of African descent to attend both events").Ramla Bandele"Pan-African Conference in 1900", Article ...
in London, England, in 1900 and delivered a paper titled "The Negro Problem in America." In a 1902 speech she said: In 1914, at the age of 56, Cooper began courses for her doctoral degree at Columbia University, but was forced to interrupt her studies in 1915 when she adopted her late half-brother's five children upon their mother's death. Later on she transferred her credits to the University of Paris-Sorbonne, which did not accept her Columbia thesis, an edition of ''
Le Pèlerinage de Charlemagne ''Le Pèlerinage de Charlemagne'' (''The Pilgrimage of Charlemagne'')Also called the ''Voyage de Charlemagne à Jérusalem et à Constantinople'' (''Charlemagne's Voyage to Jerusalem and Constantinople''). is an Old French ''chanson de geste'' (e ...
''. Over a decade she researched and composed her dissertation, completing her coursework in 1924. Cooper defended her thesis "The Attitude of France on the Question of Slavery Between 1789 and 1848" in 1925. Cooper's retirement from Washington Colored High School in 1930 was by no means the end of her political activism. The same year she retired, she accepted the position of president at Frelinghuysen University, a school founded to provide classes for DC residents lacking access to higher education. Cooper worked for Frelinghuysen for twenty years, first as president and then as registrar, and left the school only a decade before her death in 1964 at the age of 105. At the age of 65, she became the fourth black woman in American history to earn a Doctor of Philosophy degree. Her work was eventually published in an anthology of medieval French literature, and was requested for classes and the bookstore at Harvard.


Frelinghuysen University

Cooper's later years were much involved with
Frelinghuysen University Frelinghuysen University was a private Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black university in Washington, D.C., which was open from 1906 to . It provided adult education and social services to poor and working-class Afr ...
, of which she was the president. This was an institution providing continuing education to working African Americans at hours that did not interfere with their employment. After the university found servicing its mortgage prohibitive, she moved the institution to her own house.


Death

On February 27, 1964, Cooper died in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, at the age of 105. Her memorial was held in a chapel on the campus of Saint Augustine's College, in Raleigh, North Carolina, where her academic career began. She was buried alongside her husband at the City Cemetery in Raleigh.


Artistry


Writings

Although the alumni magazine of Cooper's undergraduate alma mater, Oberlin College, praised her in 1924, stating, "The class of '84 is honored in the achievement of this scholarly and colored alumna," when she tried to present her edition of ''Le Pèlerinage de Charlemagne'' to the college the next year, it was rejected. Cooper's other writings include her autobiographical booklet ''The Third Step'', about earning her doctorate from the Sorbonne, and a memoir about the
Grimké Family Grimké is a surname. Notable people with the surname include John Faucheraud Grimké of South Carolina and six of his descendants: * John Faucheraud Grimké (1752–1819) * Sarah Moore Grimké (1792–1873) * Angelina Emily Grimké (1805–1879) ...
, titled "The Early Years in Washington: Reminiscences of Life with the Grimkés," which appeared in ''Personal Recollections of the Grimké family and the Life and Writings of Charlotte Forten Grimké'' (privately published in 1951).


Works

* ** ** * * ** Translation of the author's 1925 doctoral thesis. *


Legacy

Pages 24 and 25 of the 2016
United States passport United States passports are passports issued to citizens and nationals of the United States of America. They are issued exclusively by the U.S. Department of State. Besides passports (in booklet form), limited-use passport cards are issued by ...
contain the following quotation: "The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class – it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity." – Anna Julia Cooper In 2009, the United States Postal Service released a
commemorative stamp A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event, person, or object. The ''subject'' of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike def ...
in Cooper's honor. Also in 2009, a tuition-free private middle school was opened and named in her honor – the Anna Julia Cooper Episcopal School on historic Church Hill in Richmond, Virginia. Cooper is honored on the
liturgical calendar The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which ...
of the Episcopal Church (USA) on
February 28 Events Pre-1600 *202 BC – Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty. * 870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes. *1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on ...
. The Anna Julia Cooper Center on Gender, Race, and Politics in the South at Wake Forest University was established in Anna Cooper's honor.
Melissa Harris-Perry Melissa Victoria Harris-Perry (born October 2, 1973), formerly known as Melissa Victoria Harris-Lacewell, is an American writer, professor, television host, and political commentator with a focus on African-American politics. Harris-Perry hoste ...
is the founding director. There is an Anna Julia Cooper Professor of
Women's Studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...
at
Spelman College Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman re ...
.


Timeline

*1858: Born into slavery in Raleigh, North Carolina. *1877: Marries George A. C. Cooper. *1879: Husband dies and Anna is widowed at 21 years of age. *1887: Begins teaching math and Latin at the Preparatory School. *1891: Participates in the weekly "Saturday Circle" or "Saturday Nighters" salon of Black Washingtonians. *1892: Publishes "A Voice From The South ''By a Black Woman of the South".'' *1892: Founded the
Colored Women's League The Colored Women's League (CWL) of Washington, D.C., was a woman's club, organized by a group of African-American women in June 1892, with Helen Appo Cook as president. The primary mission of this organization was the national union of colored ...
with
Helen Appo Cook Helen Appo Cook (July 21, 1837 – November 20, 1913) was a wealthy, prominent African-American community activist in Washington, D.C. and a leader in the women's club movement. Cook was a founder and president of the Colored Women's League ...
. *1893: Co-hosts anti-lynching activist
Ida B. Wells Ida B. Wells (full name: Ida Bell Wells-Barnett) (July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931) was an American investigative journalist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement. She was one of the founders of the National Association for ...
with
Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...
and Lucy Ellen Moten *1893: Becomes only woman elected to the American Negro Academy. *1893: Attends the
World's Congress of Representative Women The World's Congress of Representative Women was a week-long convention for the voicing of women's concerns, held within The Woman's Building (Chicago), The Woman's Building of the World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago, May 1893). At 81 meetings, ...
and reads paper titled "The Intellectual Progress of the Colored Women of the United States since the Emancipation Proclamation" *1900: Attends the
First Pan-African Conference The First Pan-African Conference was held in London from 23 to 25 July 1900 (just prior to the Paris Exhibition of 1900 "in order to allow tourists of African descent to attend both events").Ramla Bandele"Pan-African Conference in 1900", Article ...
in London, reads paper titled "The Negro Problem in America", and joins the executive committee. *1901: Becomes second black female principal of M. Street High School. *1925: Earns doctorate from University of Paris, purchases home in
LeDroit Park LeDroit Park ( or ) is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C. located immediately southeast of Howard University. Its borders include W Street to the north, Rhode Island Avenue and Florida Avenue to the south, Second Street NW to the east, and Howar ...
, begins hosting monthly "Les Amis de la Langue Francaise". *1929: Becomes second president of Frelinghuysen University in Washington, D.C. *1940: Becomes registrar of Frelinghuysen University and hosts classes in her LeDroit home. *1964: February 27, Anna J. Cooper dies in Washington D.C. at the age of 105.


See also

*
African-American history African-American history began with the arrival of Africans to North America in the 16th and 17th centuries. Former Spanish slaves who had been freed by Francis Drake arrived aboard the Golden Hind at New Albion in California in 1579. The ...
*
African-American literature African American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. It begins with the works of such late 18th-century writers as Phillis Wheatley. Before the high point of slave narratives, African ...
*
List of African-American writers This is a list of Black American authors and writers, all of whom are considered part of African-American literature, and who already have Wikipedia articles. The list also includes non-American authors resident in the US and American writers of A ...
* List of Alpha Kappa Alpha sisters *
List of centenarians The following is a list of lists of well documented famous centenarians by categorized occupation (people who lived to be or are currently living at 100 years or more of age) that are therein known for reasons other than just longevity. Famous ...
*
List of people on stamps of the United States This article lists people who have been featured on United States postage stamps, listed by their name, the year they were first featured on a stamp, and a short description of their notability. Since the United States Post Office issued its first ...
* List of feminist rhetoricians


Notes


References


Further reading

* * * * * * * *Special section on Anna Julia Cooper in the Spring 2009 issue of the ''
African American Review ''African American Review'' (''AAR'') is a scholarly aggregation of essays on African-American literature, theatre, film, the visual arts, and culture; interviews; poetry; fiction; and book reviews. The journal has featured writers and cultural c ...
'': ** ** ** ** ** ** *


External links


Essays by Anna J. Cooper
at Quotidiana.org
Anna Julia Cooper
- Digitized personal papers held by the
Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...
*
Works by Anna J. Cooper at Project GutenbergA Voice from the South at Project Gutenberg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Anna J 1858 births 1964 deaths African-American educators African-American writers American Episcopalians American feminist writers African-American feminists Burials at City Cemetery (Raleigh, North Carolina) Columbia University alumni Oberlin College alumni Writers from Raleigh, North Carolina St. Augustine's University (North Carolina) College of Sorbonne alumni Writers from Washington, D.C. Anglican saints African-American Episcopalians St. Augustine's University (North Carolina) alumni American essayists American women historians American medievalists Women medievalists Activists from North Carolina African-American centenarians American centenarians African-American women writers Academics from North Carolina 19th-century American slaves African-American historians Educators from Washington, D.C. American women educators Sexual slavery Women centenarians Literate American slaves 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American writers 20th-century American historians 20th-century American academics 20th-century essayists American women slaves