Lucy Stanton Day Sessions (October 16, 1831 – February 18, 1910) was an American

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

and feminist figure, notable for being the first

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 ...

woman to complete a four-year course of a study at a college or university.Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.
/ref>Lawson-Merrill Papers 1978–1983, compiled by Ellen Nickenzie Lawson and Marlene Deahl Merrill, Oberlin College Archives. She completed a Ladies Literary Course from

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 1850. Lucy Stanton Day's life was a testament to the many strong, resilient, and radical women that participated in the first wave of American feminism. Her passionate commitment to abolition especially connected her to her radical female predecessors, such as Angelina E. Grimké, who, as early as 1836, linked the abolition of slavery to the Christian duty of women.

Early life

Lucy Stanton was born free, the only child of Margaret and Samuel Stanton, on October 16, 1831. When her biological father Samuel, a barber, died when she was only 18 months old, Stanton's mother married John Brown, an abolitionist famous around

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, for his participation in the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

. Stanton is noted as saying that John Brown would harbor as many as 13 runaway slaves in their house at any given time.Smith, Jessie Carney (ed.)
''Notable Black American Women''
Vol. 2, Gale Research, 1992.

Education

In addition to his work as an abolitionist, John Brown was also an advocate for African-American education. Stanton attended the Cleveland Free School that Brown formed for African-American children. In 1846, Stanton enrolled in Oberlin College, completing a Literary degree in the "Ladies' Literary Course" of study in 1849. This degree differed from the B.A. offered to men in that it did not require foreign languages or higher mathematics.Foner, Philip S., and Robert James Branham (eds), ''Lift Every Voice: African American Oratory 1787–1900'', University of Alabama Press, 1998. At Oberlin College, Stanton was very active in the Ladies' Literary Society, and was invited (and presented) a speech at her graduation entitled "A Plea for the Oppressed" which expressed her abolitionist sentiments. This speech, in response to the

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers. The Act was one of the most co ...

which was about to take effect, urged the audience, particularly women, to put themselves in the place of the enslaved, to join the abolitionist cause, and to ultimately end

slavery in the United States The legal institution of human chattel slavery, comprising the enslavement primarily of Africans and African Americans, was prevalent in the United States of America from its founding in 1776 until 1865, predominantly in the South. Sl ...

. Her speech was immensely well-received, and reprinted in publications like ""The Oberlin Evangelist"", the Oberlin College school newspaper, and ""The Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States Politically Considered"".

Personal life and activism

Fresh out of school, Lucy Stanton began working as a principal at another free school in Cleveland. On November 25, 1852, Stanton married William H. Day, also an Oberlin College graduate. Stanton worked as a librarian, and assisted her husband as editor for the first of Cleveland's

African-American newspapers African-American newspapers (also known as the Black press or Black newspapers) are newspaper, news publications in the United States serving African-American communities. Samuel Cornish and John Brown Russwurm started the first African-Americ ...

, ''

The Aliened American ''The Aliened American'' was a newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio. It was the city's first black newspaper and is believed to have been the third newspaper for African Americans in the United States. Its first edition was published on April 9, 1853. Wil ...

''. In the first issue dated, April 9, 1853, Stanton became the first African-American woman to publish a work of fiction entitled "Charles and Clara Hays. She was a member of the

Chatham Vigilance Committee The Chatham Vigilance Committee was formulated before the American Civil War by black abolitionists in the Chatham, Ontario area to save people from being sold into slavery. Some of the members of the group were graduates of Oberlin College in Ohi ...

, which was organized to prevent people from being sold or returned to slavery. Stanton and Day had a daughter, Florence Day, born in 1858. Shortly after her birth, Day abandoned his wife and child, leaving for England. Stanton successfully received a divorce from Day in 1872. Following Day's abandonment, Stanton worked as a seamstress in Cleveland, while continuing her activism. Her affiliation with the Cleveland

Freedmen's Aid Society The Freedmen's Aid Society was founded in 1859 during the American Civil War by the American Missionary Association (AMA), a group supported chiefly by the Congregational, Presbyterian and Methodist churches in the North. It organized a supply of t ...

led to her being sent first to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

in 1866 and then to

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, both to teach newly freed slaves. While in Mississippi, Stanton met, and then in 1878 married, Levi Sessions. The couple moved to

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

where Stanton continued to be a supporter of women's and African Americans' rights by working with organizations such as the

Women's Relief Corps The Woman's Relief Corps (WRC) is a charitable organization in the United States, originally founded as the official women's auxiliary to the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in 1883. The organization was designed to assist the GAR and p ...

, the Order of Eastern Star, the

Women's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social reform with a program ...

, and the

African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...

. After the death of her mother in 1900, Stanton moved to Los Angeles. In 1904, with the assistance of black church and club women, she established the

Sojourner Truth Sojourner Truth (; born Isabella Baumfree; November 26, 1883) was an American abolitionist of New York Dutch heritage and a women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to f ...

Industrial Club as a "safe refuge" for the hundreds of black working women migrating to the city. The club sought to promote the guidance and development of young African-American women. Stanton died in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, on February 18, 1910, at the age of 78 and was buried in

Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery is a cemetery in Los Angeles at 1831 West Washington Boulevard in the Pico-Union district, southwest of Downtown. It was founded as Rosedale Cemetery in 1884, when Los Angeles had a population of approximately 28,000, o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanton, Lucy 1831 births 1910 deaths Oberlin College alumni African-American abolitionists Burials at Angelus-Rosedale Cemetery American temperance activists 20th-century African-American people