HARPER AND HER CONTEMPORARIES 

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was not the only Black woman present in the Conventions. Similar to Harper, women such as Mary Ann Shadd Cary and Edmonia Highgate spoke at at least one of the Conventions, yet Proceedings minimize their participation as well. The first Black woman in North America to found her own newspaper, The Provincial Freeman, Mary Ann Shadd Cary was present at the 1855 Philadelphia National Convention. Like Harper, Edmonia Highgate also spoke at National Convention of Colored Men (1864 : Syracuse, NY). Also, like Harper, Proceeding mentions only mention Highgate once. For women such as Jane P. Merritt, physically interrupting the 1849 Columbus Convention of Colored Citizens of Ohio controlled by male delegates reveals the demand for the proceedings to record women’s participation. However, Jane P. Merritt and the women who participated in this interruption was still reduced from Proceedings. Providing the biographies and ways these women made their presence known demonstrates the importance of reading beyond Convention Proceedings to find Black women’s presence. Moreover, the biographies of these three women situate Harper in a legacy of trailblazers and help us understand how each of their presence paved the way for one another.

To trace the overlap of these women’s Convention attendance, use the map below!

[map will be created over the summer]