“Only the BLACK WOMAN can say ‘when and where I enter, in the quiet, undisputed dignity of my womanhood, without violence and without suing or special patronage, then and there the whole Negro race enters with me.”’ ~ Anna Julia Cooper, A Voice from the South

x They call me the Mother of Black Feminism, but I just call that living my truth. My theories seek to achieve social justice against the balance of conflict and power that stands in our society... (1/2) #soc308 #socialtheory 4/10 Ã¢ÂÂ Anna Julia Haywood Cooper (@AnnaJHCooper) March 10, 2020

This black woman speaks not only for herself, or for other women like herself. Cooper stood for all of us as an example of the possible. Who could imagine that a woman born into enslavement in Raleigh, North Carolina would, in her lifetime, receive a doctorate from the Sorbonne? Who could imagine that she would be the only woman quoted on the U.S. Passport?

“The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class — it is the cause of humankind and the very birthright of humanity.” ~Anna Julia Cooper, A Voice from the South

Cooper’s beginnings were those of far too many of her black brothers and sisters: She and her mother, Hannah Stanley Haywood, were owned by Wake County landowner George Washington Haywood. The Haywoods were a prominent family in North Carolina, and it is not clear whether George or his brother, Dr. Fabius J. Haywood, Sr., was Anna Julia’s father.

“As her mother refused to discuss the matter, Anna's paternity was never fully determined, but she believed her father to have been her mother's owner, Dr. Fabius J. Haywood, Sr., or his brother George.”

When considering just how young women managed to move from a family history of rape and enslavement to the world of higher education, it is imperative to remember the sacrifice of their mothers. My own formerly enslaved great-grandmother, who could neither read nor write, ensured that all of her children, the boys and the girls, would not only learn their letters, but would go on to college.

Cooper’s mother did the same.

After the Civil War, Stanley worked as a domestic servant in Raleigh to support her daughter’s education. Cooper later wrote about her mother’s sacrifice saying that “many an unbuttered crust was eaten in silent content that she might eke out enough from her poverty to send her young folks off to school.” Cooper’s two older brothers were both independent by that time, but Stanley was always on hand to help them and their families, as well.

Though I have mentioned her Sorbonne doctorate as an extraordinary achievement in Cooper’s life, were she here, she would demur.

Cooper wrote that while some may choose to remember her for her doctorate as her most exemplary achievement, she would prefer to be remembered for creating, in 1930, the Hannah Stanley Opportunity School, “dedicated in the name of my slave Mother to the education of colored working people”. Cooper implies that her mother’s relations with Haywood were forced, not consensual. Thus, right from infancy, as Cooper recalls, her worldview was shaped by an awareness of the mutually reinforcing politics of race and gender oppression, both from her family and from other, older slaves around her.

Cooper spoke of her “father” only once.

Presumably my father was her master, if so I owe him not a sou & she was always too modest & shamefaced ever to mention him”. Later, in founding the Hannah Stanley Opportunity School at Frelinghuysen, Cooper would drop “Haywood” from her mother’s name entirely, as she had in her own name (although biographical sources occasionally refer to her as “Anna Julia Haywood Cooper,” Cooper did not use the Haywood name). Although Cooper never again publicly discussed her mother’s “shame” or her own rejection of the Haywood “lineage,” her silence on the matter is not meaningless: to the contrary, it speaks volumes.

The background and early history cited above can be found in Vivian May’s 2007 seminal work, Anna Julia Cooper, Visionary Black Feminist: A Critical Introduction.

With the 32nd stamp in its Black Heritage series, the U.S. Postal Service® honors Anna Julia Cooper, an educa­tor, scholar, feminist, and activist who gave voice to the African-American community during the 19th and 20th centuries, from the end of slavery to the beginning of the Civil Rights movement. The stamp features a portrait of Cooper created by Kadir Nelson, San Diego, California, who based his painting on an undated photograph.

x Today in 2009 the @USPS issued a stamp in honor of @SAU_News alumna Anna Julia Cooper She was an educator, scholar, feminist and activist who became the fourth African-American woman to earn a PhD pic.twitter.com/MnQndZ485K Ã¢ÂÂ HBCU Guru- The 107 (@The107_hbcu) June 11, 2018

For those of you who wish to explore Cooper’s work further, Howard University is home to the Anna Julia Cooper Collection.

You can also get involved with a Transcription Project.

x HELP! WeÃ¢ÂÂre almost there...only 4% left to transcribe. Mostly French documents....but you donÃ¢ÂÂt need to know French to transcribe! #douglassday https://t.co/tDqE3f1TVU Ã¢ÂÂ Shirley Moody-Turner (@docmoodyturner) March 4, 2020

x It was such a joy and honor to contribute to the #transcribecooper activities as part of #DouglassDay! Especially because some of the pages I transcribed relate to the research I do. Thanks @dLoCaribbean for organizing at @FIU!! #douglassdayFIU @MoorlandHU pic.twitter.com/I4JrNwnFtk Ã¢ÂÂ Alexandra P. Gelbard (@apgelbard) February 18, 2020

x Works by Ã¢ÂÂmother of Black FeminismÃ¢ÂÂ transcribed at Wilkes: https://t.co/j6Kzcra1sa Ã¢ÂÂ Denise Oliver-Velez (@Deoliver47) March 24, 2020

I smiled when I heard these young sisters from the Anna Julia Cooper Digital Project add their voices to the effort with a beautiful rendition of the black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”

x Had to post it again on the feed, a beautiful rendition from Soul Sistas, Ekep, Halo, and Indigo. The live stream should be up and running! #Douglassday #transcribecooper @DouglassDayorg @CCP_org pic.twitter.com/tLMS5laU3V Ã¢ÂÂ Anna Julia Cooper Digital Project (@DigitalCooper1) February 14, 2020

Thank you for joining me once again to celebrate the contributions of black women, not only during Women’s History Month, but as a key part of our nation’s history as a whole. Stay tuned for more throughout the year ahead.