The first stanza described the first teachers, the Yankees who set up schools for the slaves even though the masters did not agree with them. The narrator admits that the masters tried to keep the slaves uneducated, knowing that if the slaves were to become more knowledgeable, they would want to be set free.
Despite the masters’ efforts, some...More
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (September 24, 1825 – February 22, 1911) was an abolitionist, suffragist, poet, teacher, public speaker, and writer. She was one of the first African American women to be published in the United States.
Born free in Baltimore, Maryland, she had a long and prolific career, publishing her first book of poetry at the age of 20. At 67, she published her novel Iola Leroy (1892), which was widely praised.
As a young woman in 1850, she taught sewing at Union Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. In 1851, alongside William Still, chairman of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, she helped refugee slaves make their way along the Underground Railroad on their way to Canada. In 1853 she began her career as a public speaker and...More
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (September 24, 1825 – February 22, 1911) was an abolitionist, suffragist, poet, teacher, public speaker, and writer. She was one of the first African American women to be published in the United States.
Born free in Baltimore, Maryland, she had a long and prolific career, publishing her first book of poetry at the age of 20. At 67, she published her novel Iola Leroy (1892), which was widely praised.
As a young woman in 1850, she taught sewing at Union Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. In 1851, alongside William Still, chairman of the Pennsylvania Abolition Society, she helped refugee slaves make their way along the Underground Railroad on their way to Canada. In 1853 she began her career as a public speaker and political activist after joining the American Anti-Slavery Society.
Her collection Poems on Miscellaneous Subjects (1854) became her biggest commercial success. Her short story "Two Offers" was published in the Anglo-African in 1859, making literary history as the first short story published by a black woman.
Harper founded, supported, and held high office in several national progressive organizations. In 1883 she became superintendent of the Colored Section of the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Women's Christian Temperance Union. In 1894 she helped found the National Association of Colored Women and served as its vice president. Harper died aged 85 on February 22, 1911, nine years before women gained the right to vote.
(wikipedia)
Book Summary
The first stanza described the first teachers, the Yankees who set up schools for the slaves even though the masters did not agree with them. The narrator admits that the masters tried to keep the slaves uneducated, knowing that if the slaves were to become more knowledgeable, they would want to be set free.
Despite the masters’ efforts, some black slaves did learn how to read, stealing books or simply by hearing how the children of the masters’ were being taught. When the teachers came, more and more people started to learn how to read and the first book many read was the Bible.
The last three stanzas of the poem highlight how it is never too late to learn. Chloe, the narrator of this poem, learned to read at the age of sixty and even though many laughed at her, seeing her practice her reading, she did not give up and continued trying to better herself.
Frances ellen watkins harper
