Frances E. W. Harper

FRANCES E. W. HARPER

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s story is one of bravery, creative excellence, political consciousness, activism, and determination during the period preceding, during, and after the Civil War.

• 1825 – Born Frances Ellen Watkins in Baltimore, Maryland, she was orphaned at the age of three and raised by her uncle, the abolitionist William Watkins.
• 1846 – She began her amazing career as a writer by publishing her first book of poetry, Forest Leaves, at the age of 21.
• 1853 – Frances Watkins first moved to Philadelphia after meeting William Still, in order to become active in the Underground Railroad.
• 1858 – She refused to give up her seat or ride in the “colored” section of a segregated trolley car in Philadelphia (100 years before Rosa Parks) and wrote one her most famous poems, “Bury Me In A Free Land,” when she got very sick while on a lecturing tour. Her short story “The Two Offers” became the first short story to be published by an African American.
• 1859 – A dedicated abolitionist, Harper was one of the few public figures who did not abandon John Brown after his failed effort at Harpers Ferry, instead writing to him and staying with his wife, Mary, at the home of Lucretia Mott (Philadelphia’s leading Quaker Abolitionist) for the two weeks preceding his hanging.
• 1860 – She married Fenton Harper, had a daughter, Mary, and was widowed in 1864.
• 1865 – In the immediate post-Civil War years, Harper returned to the lecture circuit, focusing her attentions on education for the formerly enslaved, on the Equal Rights Movement and on the Temperance Movement.
• 1868 – She spent four years speaking and teaching in churches and Freedmen’s schools in the South, stressing the importance of education and self-empowerment.
• 1892 – Harper published her most famous novel, Iola Leroy, at the age of 67. This novel, which was written in Philadelphia, was a best seller and is one of the few books from this period to look at the mid-nineteenth century American landscape through African-American eyes.
• 1896 – Frances Harper became Vice President of the newly formed National Association of Colored Women.
• 1911 – Frances Ellen Watkins Harper died on February 22, 1911.

Frances E.W. Harper is considered the “Mother of African American Journalism” as well as the most famous nineteenth century African American poet and novelist. In her role as a political activist, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was a brave, principled, and talented advocate for freedom and equality for everyone, speaking for the Anti-Slavery societies before the Civil War and for Women’s Suffrage and Temperance movements after. The study of her life not only gives us a picture of the lived experiences of an intelligent, educated, African American woman in the nineteenth century, but also provides us with a snapshot of Philadelphia and the nation from a perspective that is not usually presented. Despite all of her remarkable accomplishments, Frances E.W. Harper’s name cannot be found in most history books.  

A BRIGHTER COMING DAY SPEAKERS

Lena Ampadu

is Professor in the Department of English, Towson University, where she teaches composition, Survey of African American Literature, Major Writers of African American Literature, and courses on black women writers. In addition, she is the immediate past Director of the African and African American Studies Program. She has published a number of essays on composition and rhetoric, as well as on African American literature. Her specialty is oral traditions in African and African American women’s novels. Her publications include “The Poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar and the Influence of African Aesthetics” (We Wear he Mask: Paul Laurence Dunbar and the Politics of Representative Reality) and “Maria Stewart: Womanism, Black Nationalism, and the Rhetoric of Black Preaching” (Black Women’s Intellectual Tradition: Speaking Their Minds). She has lectured on the Poetic Voice of Frances E.W. Harper and the Prose, Poetics, and Politics of Frances E. W. Harper and is presently working on a manuscript on Frances Harper and Pauline Hopkins.

Charles L. Blockson

  is founder and curator of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple University which includes rare texts, slave narratives, art, and a host of other artifacts significant in African-American history. Born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, Blockson graduated from Pennsylvania State University and holds an honorary doctorate from Villanova University. Blockson has written several essays and books centered on African-American history, especially in Pennsylvania, including The Underground Railroad and Liberty Bell Era: The African-American Story.

Melba Joyce Boyd

is Distinguished Professor and Chair of Africana Studies at Wayne State University. She is the author of thirteen books, including Wrestling with the Muse: Dudley Randall and the Broadside Press which received the 2005 Black Caucus of the American Library Association Book Honor for Nonfiction, and the editor of Roses and Revolutions: the Collected Writings of Dudley Randall, which received the 2010 Library of Michigan Notable Books Award and was a finalist for a 2010 NAACP Image Award in Literature. Her 1994 book, Discarded Legacy: Politics and Poetics in the Life of Frances E. W. Harper, 1825-1911, was widely reviewed and praised by critics. Eight of her books are collections of poetry, the most recent of which is Death Dance of a Butterfly. She has won a number of awards including a Michigan Council for the Arts Individual Artist Award, and in 2009 she was a Nominee for the Kresge Eminent Artist Award. She is the series coeditor of the African American Life Series at WSU Press, and a contributing editor for The Black Scholar: The Journal of Black Studies and Research.

Frances Smith Foster

is Charles Howard Candler Professor of English and Women’s Studies at Emory University. She regularly teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in African American literature and culture and in women’s literature and culture. Recent course offerings have included “The Profession of English,” “Family, Marriage and (Sexual) Morality in 19th century America,” “Slavery and the African American Literary Imagination, “Becoming a Woman,” and “African American Prize-winning and Prize-worthy Literature.” She has edited or written more than a dozen books, including Love and Marriage in Early African America, Written By Herself: Literary Production by African American Women, 1746-1892 and Witnessing Slavery: The Development of the Ante-Bellum Slave Narrative. She has edited, alone or jointly, works that include The Oxford Companion to African American Literature and The Norton Anthology of African American Literature as well as editions of several African American women’s texts including Minnie’s Sacrifice, Sowing and Reaping, and Trial and Triumph: Three Rediscovered Novels by Frances E.W. Harper. She is the editor of A Brighter Coming Day: A Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Reader.

Sonia Sanchez

is a poet, mother, activist, professor, and international lecturer on black culture and literature, women’s liberation, peace and racial justice. She has written over 16 books, including most recently, Morning Haiku. Sanchez was the first Presidential Fellow at Temple University, where she held the Laura Carnell Chair in English. The recipient of numerous awards, Sanchez has been honored by: the National Endowment for the Arts; the Pennsylvania Coalition of 100 Black Women; the National Black Caucus of State Legislators; the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Humanities; the Peace and Freedom Award; and a Pew Fellowship in the Arts. Sanchez’s exemplary writing skills have earned her the American Book Award and the Langston Hughes Poetry Award. Her book, Does Your House Have Lions?, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. Having lectured and read poetry to over 500 universities, colleges and organizations in the United States, Africa, Cuba, England, the Caribbean, Australia, Nicaragua, the People’s Republic of China, Norway and Canada, Sanchez has established a reputation as a highly renowned author and scholar.

A BRIGHTER COMING DAY PROGRAM

Commemoration of the Life
& Work of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
Sunday, February 20, 2011 – 11am
-The First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia
2125 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, 215-701-9072

A commemoration of the Life & Work of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, who died on February 22, 1911 and whose funeral was held at The First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia one hundred years ago today. It will feature the unveiling of a commissioned portrait of Frances E.W. Harper, presentation of the City Council Resolution to the Fattah family and other activities, including the reading of poetry by Frances E.W. Harper and music from the Universal Drum and Dance company.

SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK

Sunday, February 20, 2011 at 3:00 pm

Buy $40 tickets.

Grammy Award–winning a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock® will be performing at the First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia at 3:00 pm on Sunday, February 20 in honor of the hundredth anniversary of the death of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.

Harper was a venerable African-American abolitionist, orator, and poet. In addition to her work as an abolitionist and writer, she was also an ardent supporter of prohibition and women’s suffrage.

Sweet Honey in the Rock®, featuring five singers and an American Sign Language interpreter, is internationally renowned for its musical prowess, powerful use of varied American musical traditions, and commitment to social justice and civil rights.

Charles L. Blockson Lecture on Frances E. W. Harper
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 -2pm
- Charles L. Blockson Collection at Temple University
1330 W. Berks Street, Philadelphia PA 19122, 215-204-6632

A lecture by Charles L. Blockson on Frances E. W. Harper. Charles L. Blockson is founder and curator of the Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection at Temple University which incudes rare texts, slave narratives, art, and a host of other artifacts significant in African-American history. Blockson has written several essays and books centered on African-American history, especially in Pennsylvania, including The Underground Railroad and Liberty Bell Era: The African-American Story.

Falaka Fattah and The Political Legacy of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
Tuesday, February 22, 2011 – 7pm
-The Moonstone Arts Center
110A S. 13^th Street, Philadelphia PA 19107, 215-735-9600

Falaka Fattah is the founder of House of Umoja, a Philadelphia activist, and mother of Congressman Chaka Fattah. Falaka Fattah’s great grandmother married the brother of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s husband. Every generation of the Fattah family has named one of their children after Frances Harper since then. They have treasured the family connection to Frances Harper and have been inspired and motivated in their community service by this nineteenth century artist and political activist. Moonstone is honored to present a program on this subject featuring a showing of A Place To Go Home To, a film by Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon on House of Umoja, and speakers honoring Falaka Fattah and the traditions inspired by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.

Chat in the Stacks with Lena Ampadu
Wednesday, February 23, 2011 –2:30pm
- Paley Library Lecture Hall, Temple University
1210 Polett Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19122-6088, 215-204-0744 ‎

Lena Ampadu, Professor of English and former Director of African and African American Studies Program at Towson University, leads a discussion on the Prose, Poetics and Politics of Frances E. W. Harper.

Discarded Legacy: Politics and Poetics in the Life of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
Wednesday, February 23, 2011 – 6pm
- The Historical Society of Pennsylvania
1300 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-735-6200

A Panel Discussion with: Lena Ampadu – Professor of English and former Director of African and African American Studies Program at Towson University. Ampadu’s specialty is oral traditions in African and African American women’s novels. She has lectured on the Poetic Voice of Frances E.W. Harper and the Prose, Poetics, and Politics of Frances E. W. Harper.

Melba Joyce Boyd – Distinguished Professor and Chair of Africana Studies at Wayne State University. She is the author of thirteen books, including Discarded Legacy: Politics and Poetics in the Life of Frances E. W. Harper, 1825-1911, the only book of criticism available on Frances E.W. Harper.

Sonia Sanchez – Author of more than a dozen books of poetry, including Shake Loose My Skin: New and Selected Poems. Sanchez was the first Presidential Fellow at Temple University, where she began teaching in 1977, and held the Laura Carnell Chair in English there until her retirement in 1999. She has taught and lectured around the world and embodies in her life and work the legacy of Frances E.W. Harper.

Discarded Legacy: Politics and Poetics in the Life of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
Thursday, February 24, 2011 – 10am
- School District of Philadelphia Auditorium
440 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia PA19107, 215-400-5719
A presentation by Melba Joyce Boyd for teachers and students co-sponsored by the Social Studies Department of the School District of Philadelphia.

The Poetry and Poetic Legacy of Frances E.W. Harper
Thursday, February 24, 2011 –7pm
- The Moonstone Arts Center
110A S. 13^th Street, Philadelphia PA, 19107 – 215-735-9600
This event will feature Melba Joyce Boyd and Sonia Sanchez reading poetry by Frances E.W. Harper and their own poetry. An open reading of contemporary poetry in Harper’s tradition of social activism will follow. This event will include poetry by Philadelphia high school students who have been studying Frances E.W. Harper.

A Brighter Coming Day: Rediscovering Frances E. W. Harper
Friday, February 25, 2011 – 7pm
- Ruth Auditorium, Nesbitt Hall, Drexel University
33rd and Market Streets, Philadelphia, PA

A lecture by Frances Smith Foster, Charles Howard Candler Professor of English and Women’s Studies at Emory University. Frances Smith Foster compiled and edited A Brighter Coming Day: A Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Reader, the only collection of Harper’s work available. Her research discovered three novels published as serials in the Christian Recorder, the journal of the AME church. Foster then published Minnie’s Sacrifice, Sowing and Reaping, and Trial and Triumph: Three Rediscovered Novels by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper.

A Brighter Coming Day: Rediscovering Frances E. W. Harper for Teachers
Saturday, February 26, 2011 – 9am
- National Constitution Center
Independence Mall, 525 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106, 215-409-6600

A Teacher Training with Frances Smith Foster on Frances E. W. Harper and her work. This program carries Act 48 credits for Philadelphia teachers and will include curriculum and other materials to help teachers present the Antebellum, Civil War and Reconstruction periods from an African-American viewpoint.

Trailblazers To Freedom
Saturday, February 26, 2011 –1pm
- African American Museum in Philadelphia
701 Arch Street, Philadelphia PA 19106, 215-574-0380

The African American Museum in Philadelphia’s Trailblazers to Freedom Traveling Trunk Program offers an exciting series of educational resources for classroom instruction. Trunks are complete with instructional information, replicated artifacts and primary source documents, along with related lesson plans and hands-on activities that are based on specific people and themes of the exhibition to help students better understand the history of Philadelphia’s African American community from 1776 to 1876. The Traveling Trunk explores the life and times of social activist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, who expressed herself through the written and spoken word. The Trailblazers to Freedom Traveling Trunk is an innovative teaching tool that allows students to interact with notable history makers and events that helped shape visions and dreams of freedom and equality in colonial America. Philadelphia’s history is brought to life through artifacts, multi-media presentations and classroom activities.

Remembering Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
Sunday, February 27, 2011 –11am
- Mother Bethel AME Church
419 S. 6^th Street, Philadelphia PA 19147, 215-925-0616

This event will feature a sermon by Reverend Mark Kelly Tyler and other activities. Frances E.W. Harper was raised by her uncle William Watkins as a member of the Sharp Street United Methodist Church (formerly Methodist Episcopal) in Baltimore and she taught Sunday School at Mother Bethel in Philadelphia.

Bury Me In A Free Land
Sunday, February 27, 2011 – 2pm
- Eden Cemetery
1434 Springfield Road, Collingdale, PA 19023, 610-563-8737

A graveside memorial to Frances E.W. Harper with music and poetry.
*Bus transportation between the events at Mother Bethel and the Eden Cemetery may be provided. If interested, please contact Larry Robin at: larry@moonstoneartscenter.org.