Sarah and Angelina GrimkePublic speakers
B. 1792 D. 1879 Testimony: In their Own WordsMen and women were CREATED EQUAL.... Whatever is right for a man to do, is right for woman....I seek no favors for my sex. I surrender not our claim to equality. All I ask of our brethren is, that they will take their feet from off our necks and permit us to stand upright on that ground which God destined us to occupy. |
Actions
- sisters were born in the South to wealthy plantation owner parents; their father was a strong proponent of slavery and thought women should "stay in their place"
- both sisters reacted negatively to early experiences seeing slaves being beaten; Sarah taught her personal slaves how to read
- Sarah tried to become a lawyer but her father banned her from seeking higher education
- Angelina wrote to William Lloyd Garrison about their experiences with slavery and were asked to become public speakers for abolition
- The sisters became the first female public speakers in America, speaking at first only to female crowds but eventually to mixed gender groups
- Spoke out to urge southern white women to sympathize with black slave women.
- Responded to critics by publishing arguments defending their rights as an equal sex
- both sisters reacted negatively to early experiences seeing slaves being beaten; Sarah taught her personal slaves how to read
- Sarah tried to become a lawyer but her father banned her from seeking higher education
- Angelina wrote to William Lloyd Garrison about their experiences with slavery and were asked to become public speakers for abolition
- The sisters became the first female public speakers in America, speaking at first only to female crowds but eventually to mixed gender groups
- Spoke out to urge southern white women to sympathize with black slave women.
- Responded to critics by publishing arguments defending their rights as an equal sex
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