classical feminist
ft VOIC E FRO M TH E SOUTH . BY A BLAC K WOMA N O F TH E SOUTH , XJN1A, OHI O THE ALDIN E PRINTIN G HOUSE . 1892 COPYRIGHT 189 2 BY ANNA JULI A COOPER . CONTENTS. PART FIRST . SOPRANO OBLIGAJHO . WOMANHOOD A VITA L ELEMEN T I N TH E REGENE - RATION AN D PROGRESS O F A RAC E 9 THE HIGHE R EDUCATIO N O F WOMAN 4 8 "WOMAN vs . TH E INDIAN " 80 THE STATU S O F WOMA N I N AMERIC A 12 7 PART SECOND . HAS AMERIC A A RAC E PROBLEM ; I F so , Ho w CA N IT BES T B E SOLVE D ? 14 9 THE NEGRO AS PRESENTED IN AMERICAN LITERATURE WHAT AR E W E WORT H ? 22 8 THE GAI N FRO M A BELIE F 28 6 175 TUTTI AD LIBITUM. D'ETRE. the clash and clatter of our American Con- flict, it has been said that the South remains Silent, Lik e the Sphin x she inspire s vocifer - ous disputation, but hersel f takes little part i n the nois y controversy . On e muffled strai n i n the Silen t South , a jarring chord and a vagu e and uncomprehende d cadenza has bee n an d still is the Negro. An d of that muffled chord , the one mute and voiceless note has bee n th e sadly expectant Black Woman, An infan t cryin g i n th e night , An infan t cryin g fo r th e light ; And wit h n o language —but a cry. The colored man's inheritance and apportion- ment i s still the sombre crux , the perplexin g cul de sac of th e nation,—th e dum b skeleto n in th e close t provokin g ceaseles s harangues , indeed, but littl e understoo d and seldo m con - sulted. Attorney s for the plaintif f an d attor - OUR RAISON NI — II — neys for the defendant , with bungling gaucherie have analyze d an d dissected , theorize d an d synthesized with sublime ignorance or pathetic misapprehension o f counse l fro m th e blac k client. On e important witness has not yet been heard from. Th e summing up of the evidence deposed, and the charge to the jury have been made—but no word from th e Blac k Woman . It i s because I believe the American peopl e to be conscientiously committed t o a fair trial and ungarbled evidence , and because I fee l i t essential t o a perfec t understandin g an d a n equitable verdic t tha t truth fro m each stand - point b e presente d a t the bar,—that this little Voice has been added to the already full chorus. The " other sid e " has not been represented by one who " lives there. " An d no t man y can more sensibly realize an d more accurately tel l the weigh t an d th e fre t o f th e "lon g dul l pain " than the open-eyed but hitherto voice- less Black Woman o f America . The feverish agitation, the perfervid energy, the bus y objectivit y o f th e mor e turbulen t life o f ou r men serves, it ma y be , a t onc e t o — m — cloud or color their visio n somewhat , an d a s well to relieve the smar t and deaden th e pai n for them . Thei r voic e is i n consequenc e no t always temperate and calm ? an d a t th e sam e time radicall y correctiv e an d sanatory . A t any rate, as our Caucasia n barristers ar e no t to blame if they cannot quite put themselve s in the dar k man's place, neither should the dark man be wholly expected fully an d adequatel y to reproduc e th e exac t Voic e o f th e Blac k Woman. Delicately sensitiv e a t ever y pore t o socia l atmospheric conditions , he r calorimete r ma y well b e studie d i n th e interes t o f accurac y and fairnes s i n diagnosing what i s ofte n con - ceded to be a " puzzling" case. If these broken utterance s ca n i n an y wa y hel p t o a clearer vision and a truer pulse-bea t in study- ing ou r Nation' s Problem , thi s Voic e b y a Black Woma n of the Sout h wil l not hav e been raised in vain . TAWAWA CHIMNE Y CORNER , SEPT. 17 , 1892 . SOP^flfiO OBliIGflTO . For the y th e Royal-hearted Women ar e Who nobl y love the noblest , ye t hav e grac e For needy , suffering live s i n lowlies t place ; Carrying a choice r sunligh t i n thei r smile , The heavenlies t ray tha t pitiet h th e vile . Though I wer e happy , throne d besid e the king, I shoul d b e tender t o eac h littl e thin g With hur t war m breast , tha t ha d no speech t o tel l Its inward pangs; and I woul d sooth i t wel l With tende r touc h an d wit h a low , sof t moa n For company . —George Eliot. * WOMANHOO D A VITA L ELEMEN T IN TH E REGENERATIO N AN D PROGRESS O F A RACE . two source s fro m which , perhaps , ^•^ moder n civilization has derived its nobl e and ennobling ideal of woman are Christianit y and the Feudal System . In Orienta l countrie s woman has been uni - formly devote d to a life o f ignorance , infamy, and complet e stagnation . Th e Chines e shoe of to-day does not more entirely dwarf , cramp, and destro y he r physica l powers , tha n hav e the customs , laws, and social instincts , whic h from remotes t age s have governe d ou r Siste r of the East , enervated and blighte d Jie r men- tal an d moral life . Mahomet make s n o accoun t o f woma n whatever i n hi s polity . Th e Koran , which , unlike ou r Bible , wa s a produc t an d no t a *Read before the convocation of colored clergy of the Protestant Epis- copal Churc h at Washington, D . C. t 1886. HE 10 A VOIC E FRO M growth, tried to address itself t o th e need s of Arabian civilizatio n as Mahomet with his cir- cumscribed powers saw them. Th e Arab was a nomad . Hom e t o hi m mean t hi s presen t camping place . Tha t deit y who , accordin g to ou r wester n ideals , make s an d sanctifie s the home, was to him a transient bauble to be toyed wit h s o lon g a s i t gav e pleasur e an d then t o be thrown asid e fo r a new one. A s a personality, a n individua l soul , capabl e o f eternal growt h an d unlimite d development , and destined t o moul d an d shape the civiliza - tion o f the futur e t o a n incalculabl e extent , Mahomet did not kno w woman . Ther e wa s no hereafter, no paradise for her. Th e heav - en o f th e Mussulma n i s people d an d mad e gladsome not by th e departe d wife , o r sister , or mother , bu t b y houri —a figmen t o f Ma - homet's brain, partaking o f the etherea l qual - ities o f angels, ye t imbue d with al l th e vice s and inanity o f Orienta l women . Th e hare m here, and—"dustto dust" hereafter , this was the hope , the inspiration , th e summum bonum of the Eastern woman' s life ! Wit h wha t re - sult o n the lif e o f the nation , th e "Unspeaka - ble Turk," the "sick man" of modern Europ e can to-day exemplify. Says a certai n writer : "Th e private lif e o f THE SOUTH . 11 the Tur k i s viles t o f the vile , unprogressive , unambitious, an d inconceivabl y low. " An d yet Turke y i s no t withou t he r grea t men . She has produced most brillian t minds ; me n skilled in al l the intricacie s o f diplomac y and statesmanship; me n whos e intellect s coul d grapple wit h th e dee p problem s o f empir e and manipulat e th e subtl e agencie s whic h check-mate kings . Bu t thes e mind s wer e not the norma l outgrowth o f a healthy trunk . They seeme d rathe r ephemera l excrescencie s which shoo t fa r ou t wit h al l th e vigo r an d promise, apparently, o f stron g branches; bu t soon alas fal l into deca y and uglines s because there i s no soundness in th e root , n o life-giv- ing sap , permeating , strengthenin g an d per - petuating the whole . Ther e is a worm at th e core! Th e homelif e i s impure! an d when we look for fruit , like apple s o f Sodom, i t crum - bles within ou r grasp into dus t and ashes. It i s pleasing t o tur n fro m thi s effet e an d immobile civilizatio n t o a societ y stil l fres h and vigorous , whos e see d i s i n itself , an d whose very name is synonymous with al l that is progressive , elevatin g an d inspiring , viz.