A Voice from the South
Also known as A Voice from the South: By a Black Woman of the South
Anna Julia Cooper's 1892 essays, one of the first full-length Black feminist texts.
At a glance
Key ideas
"Real progress is growth", "We must educate our women", Uplift through Black women …
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Womanhood a Vital Element in the Regeneration and Progress of a Race, The Higher Education of Woman, Woman Versus the Indian …
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- Cooper's first book collects eight essays on race and racism, gender, the lives of Black families and the Episcopal Church.
- Its central thesis is that the progress of Black women would raise the whole African-American community.
- She argues for the higher education of women and names Black women whose achievements rivalled men's.
- Some critics called it submissive to the era's ideal of true womanhood; others count it among the most important Black feminist arguments of the 19th century.
Why it matters
- It is widely seen as one of the first articulations of Black feminism and is still taught in sociology, history and gender studies.
Key facts
- Author
- Anna Julia Cooper1
- Published
- 1892, Aldine Printing House, Xenia, Ohio2
- Structure
- Two parts, "Soprano Obligato" and "Tutti Ad Libitum", of four essays each1
- Dedication
- To Bishop Benjamin William Arnett1
- Later editions
- Oxford University Press, 1990, edited by Mary Helen Washington; Dover, 2016, edited by Janet Neary2
Key ideas
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"Real progress is growth"1
The nation can only grow with the influence of women, and Black girls of the South are the most abandoned.
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"We must educate our women"1
Change needs equality between the sexes, so women must have higher education.
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Uplift through Black women1
Black women's educational, moral and spiritual progress would improve the standing of the whole community.
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Racism in the women's movement1
She criticised white suffragists such as Susan B. Anthony and Anna Shaw who claimed to fight for equality.
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"What are we worth?"1
Education is the most worthwhile investment, and Black Americans are worth more than their raw materials.
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