On March 23, 1925 at the age of 66, Anna Julia Cooper stood ready to defend her dissertation before a review committee at the University of Paris. Cooper's remarkable intellectual achievement was the product of years of hard work and determination, a highly unusual journey for a child born to an enslaved mother in 1858. Her dissertation, "L'attitude de la France a L'egard de L'esclavage pendant la Revolution," offered a bold interpretation of the French Revolution. In it, Cooper examined the relations between the 18th century revolutionists in Paris and the representatives and inhabitants of...

This collection is a major contribution to the reconstruction of gender balance in African-American history -Manning Marable, Columbia University

A cornerstone of black feminist and political theory, this collection of essays focuses on racial progress and women's rights. A Voice from the South, written in 1892, is regarded as the first statement of black feminism. Despite their imprint of nineteenth-century social thought, these essays possess an urgent, modern tone, characterized by an emphasis on debate and a scintillating wit. Topics include the importance of women's education as well as African Americans' economic roles and their literary representation.
A noted member of Washington, D. C.'s African American community,...