Trembling with frustrated rage, Maria Stewart looked out at the mixed audience of white and Black women and men. What would they think of her next words?
It had taken her so long to get there. Forced into indentured servitude after her parents’ mysterious deaths, she was denied an education because she was Black and a girl.
She’d finally run away, and set to educating herself. She worked, married, and – inspired by the writings of David Walker – began to write powerfully against slavery and sexism. But then the next blow came.
Her husband died, and crooked white lawyers swindled her out of his small fortune! She was left penniless. Her next audacious move, however, stunned everyone.
She began speaking out against slavery and for women’s rights, becoming the first woman of any race to address mixed crowds! Eloquent rage spewed from her – slavery was immoral, and the second-class status of women was wrong! She was a sensation.
Her speeches and writings galvanized the crowd to fight against slavery and for women’s voting rights, long before Frederick Douglass or Susan B. Anthony.
Stewart powerfully challenged the system and determined her own life path despite racism, prejudice, and circumstance. How are you challenging the system?