Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was born in Baltimore, Maryland on September 24, 1825. She was orphaned at the age of three and raised and educated by her uncle, the abolitionist, and an A.M.E preacher, William Watkins. Although born in difficult times and under difficult circumstances, she did not let these issues stop her from fighting for freedom and equality for others. She began her career as a writer by publishing her first book of poetry, Forest Leaves, at the age of 19. With the passing of The Fugitive Slave Act in 1850 Frances moved to Ohio to be a teacher at the Union Seminary. In 1854 Frances first made her first move to Philadelphia after meeting the famous abolitionist and author, William Still, in order to become active in the Underground Railroad. She was an abolitionist who used her writing and speaking gifts as a platform against slavery, racism, and gender inequality. In 1858 she was recorded in Philadelphia newspapers for refusing to give up her seat or ride in the “colored” section of a segregated trolley car in Philadelphia (100 years before Rosa Parks). This sparked the writing of one of her most famous poems, “Bury Me in a Free Land”. Her short story “The Two Offers” became the first short story to be published by an African American. A year later she would be 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. She was instrumental in the Philadelphia region Underground Railroad that helped transport freedom seekers to the North and Canada. In 1860 she married Fenton Harper and moved to Columbus, Ohio, had a daughter, Mary, in 1862 and was widowed in 1864. Harper returned to Philadelphia and resumed lecturing with focused attention on education for the formerly enslaved, the Equal Rights Movement and the Temperance Movement. She spent four years speaking and teaching in churches and Freedmen’s schools in the South, stressing the importance of education and self-empowerment. At the age of 67, Harper published her most famous novel, Iola Leroy. This novel, which was written in Philadelphia, became a bestseller during this time period. In 1896, Harper worked with Ida B. Wells, Harriet Tubman and other influential women of the time to form the National Association of Colored Women and served as Vice President of the newly formed organization.  Frances Ellen Watkins Harper died on February 22, 1911 in Philadelphia, PA.

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