A clear, concise argument on the devaluation of Black lives by the US government was heard at the National Council of Women of the United States in 1891. The argument delivered by Frances E.W. Harper, an acclaimed poet and avid abolitionist, brought to light the problems that were afflicting the development of a respectable nation. Deprived of protection or opportunities, the lives of African-Americans were once again being stagnated to nothing more than the racist philosophies that had existed with slavery. With claims that demonstrated the discrepancy of the United States’ written laws and the one that were actually practiced, the nation’s standards of security were shown to be for the chosen few.
Harper both critiques and advises the newfound …show more content…
As Logan notes in her anthology, With Pen and Voice, Harper orphaned at the age of three and raised by her uncle, gained her start at the Watkins’ Academy for Negro Youth, soon becoming well known for her oratorical abilities. Well educated and being an advocate for education for all, Harper became a schoolteacher in Pennsylvania until two incidents drove her into the Anti-Slavery movement. The first being the enslavement of a freeman coupled with the passing of the Fugitive Slave Law putting her own liberty at stake. Following the passing of the law and the unlawful enslavement of a man, Harper began to fight against the injustices enacted on Black Americans. Touring cities, she soon became a lecturer for the abolitionist movement, gaining notoriety for her ability to speak “without notes, with gestures few and fitting…never assuming, never theatrical” (Logan 31). Being a Black, educated, freeborn and widowed woman, Harper used all of her past capabilities to present her platform, as an individual who had to be seated in what was a primarily White woman discussion table. Utilizing her knowledge of African Americans in America as well as her prior educational background, Harper battles the former ideals of Black people as ignorant savages through testimonies of their actions after the American Revolution and accomplishments …show more content…
Harper describes the nation as “the strongest on earth…that cannot afford to deal unjustly towards its weakest and feeblest members” drawing in the audience to understand why the injustices enacted against Black Americans must stop. The world is watching as America rebuilds itself for the ashes of the Revolution and the last idea that needs to be believed is that the government cannot protect its most vulnerable people. The ethos invoked is not of a race of people who cannot sustain themselves but actually give back to those in need, having produced their own economy, Harper notes that “millions of dollars been flowed into the pockets of the race, and freed people have not only been able to provide for themselves, but reach out their hands to impoverished owners”, some hands that may belong to the people who oppress
Harper both critiques and advises the newfound …show more content…
As Logan notes in her anthology, With Pen and Voice, Harper orphaned at the age of three and raised by her uncle, gained her start at the Watkins’ Academy for Negro Youth, soon becoming well known for her oratorical abilities. Well educated and being an advocate for education for all, Harper became a schoolteacher in Pennsylvania until two incidents drove her into the Anti-Slavery movement. The first being the enslavement of a freeman coupled with the passing of the Fugitive Slave Law putting her own liberty at stake. Following the passing of the law and the unlawful enslavement of a man, Harper began to fight against the injustices enacted on Black Americans. Touring cities, she soon became a lecturer for the abolitionist movement, gaining notoriety for her ability to speak “without notes, with gestures few and fitting…never assuming, never theatrical” (Logan 31). Being a Black, educated, freeborn and widowed woman, Harper used all of her past capabilities to present her platform, as an individual who had to be seated in what was a primarily White woman discussion table. Utilizing her knowledge of African Americans in America as well as her prior educational background, Harper battles the former ideals of Black people as ignorant savages through testimonies of their actions after the American Revolution and accomplishments …show more content…
Harper describes the nation as “the strongest on earth…that cannot afford to deal unjustly towards its weakest and feeblest members” drawing in the audience to understand why the injustices enacted against Black Americans must stop. The world is watching as America rebuilds itself for the ashes of the Revolution and the last idea that needs to be believed is that the government cannot protect its most vulnerable people. The ethos invoked is not of a race of people who cannot sustain themselves but actually give back to those in need, having produced their own economy, Harper notes that “millions of dollars been flowed into the pockets of the race, and freed people have not only been able to provide for themselves, but reach out their hands to impoverished owners”, some hands that may belong to the people who oppress