Frances E. W. Harper's Speech Summary

Frances E.W. Harper (Judy Whipps) was a suffrage leader who represented the Negro Women. Harper was a lecturer and writer who opposed the idea of “only” white women have the right to vote. In 1891, Harper gave a speech to the National Council of women that called for equal rights to vote for African-American men and women. Harper stated in the speech that African-Americans were not dependent on the North and South but “members of the body politic who has a claim upon the nation for justice, simple justice.” Harper’s speech highlights some of the radical slurs and the divide between whites and Negros. Harper saw the African-American as not “ignorant” and questioned this description by whites. Harper spoke about equal rights and representation