Early Life

· Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was born on September 24,1825 .

· Her mother died when she was three, so she went under the care of her aunt and uncle. 

· She went to a free colored school and was taught by her uncle.

Adult Life

· When she was an adult she worked as a teacher.

· In the 1850’s she became a lecturer in the Anti– Slavery movement.

· She died on February 2, 1911

 

 

http://web.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap5/harper.html

Why was she important in the African-American

Community?

· Frances fought for freedom of slavery until she died, even though she was not a slave herself.

· Her poetry is still remembered today because of its moral uplift and counseling to the oppressed.

· Her writings during the Emancipation Proclamation helped  contribute to the cause for freedom of slaves.

· While she was a lecturer in Philadelphia, she lived by a station of the Underground Railroad and saw the suffering of its passengers

· She fought for African American JUSTICE

“Apparent failure may hold in its rough shell the germs of success that will blossom in time, and bear fruit throughout eternity.”