Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was an African-American abolitionist, suffragist, all-around public activist, and an author and poet. During her life (1825-1911), Harper was a public activist who supported progressive agendas; she was one of the co-founders of the National Association of Colored Women, as well as a member of the American Anti-Slavery Committee.

In 1866, Harper delivered a legendary speech at the National Women’s Rights Convention.In her speech, she called for equality for all, but she did something else very important: she called white feminists out on their shit.

White feminism is a type of feminism demonstrated by white women who ignore or dismiss the experiences of women of color. Here is a great video by the Huffington Post explaining contemporary white feminism. White women need to be aware of the fact that no matter how misogynistic society may be, white women have a certain amount of white privilege that makes it easier to “break” glass ceilings, get pay raises, and earn respect from male counterparts. Just to clarify, I’m not trying to say that white women have it easy in society–simply being a woman subjects you to a world of socially constructed gender discrimination, and there are many active factors in this besides race and gender– but there is no denying that white women benefit from white privilege. Not to mention that deep-rooted racism in the United States makes “whiteness” the standard, especially in terms of beauty and physical appearance.

Frances Harper was well aware of white feminism, even though the term did not exist during her time (the term “feminism” wasn’t even used in English until about thirty years after Harper’s speech).

Harper first addressed white feminism in her speech by saying “I do not believe that giving the woman the ballot is immediately going to cure all the ills of life. I do not believe that white women are dew-drops just exhaled from the skies. I think that like men they may be divided into three classes, the good, the bad, and the indifferent. The good would vote according to their convictions and principles; the bad, as dictated by preju[d]ice or malice; and the indifferent will vote on the strongest side of the question, with the winning party.” In this passage, Harper makes the point that simply giving women the right to vote would not end disparities and inequalities for women of color, or people of color in general. She was right. White women were given the right to vote in 1920, but black people weren’t able to completely and freely exercise their right to vote until the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and Latinos still could not vote until a decade later in 1975. This is not even considering many social and institutional factors that still continue to oppress voters of color.

Let this year’s debilitating presidential election be an illustrative example to Harper’s claim about white women voters. President-Elect Donald Trump won 53% of white, woman votes. A man who is not only an actual racist, but has done and said disgusting and devastating things about women. Take for instance the way he treated a woman of color who won the Trump-owned Miss Universe pageant. This is disturbing to me, as I’m sure it would be for Harper.

“You white women speak here of rights. I speak of wrongs.” Harper was well aware that the white woman agenda did not always consider women of color. Towards the end of her speech, she states “I tell you that if there is any class of people who need to be lifted out of their airy nothings and selfishness, it is the white women of America.” Harper’s audience was primarily white women, which demonstrates how brave she must have been to call them out and call upon them to be better allies to women of color.

Harper was an advocate for intersectional feminism before it was a term. Intersectional feminism recognizes that women of color face more/different institutional and social discrimination, and this was the type of feminism Frances Harper called for in her speech. If a white woman is a true feminist, she will fight against racism as she does misogyny.

I would like to point out that white feminists do not always know they are white feminists, and I am in no way trying to condemn all white women. It is not always easy, or obvious, to see things outside of your own perspective. Education and understanding is critical. As a feminist, as a mixed race white-passing woman, and most importantly as a human being, I work hard to educate myself and be as intersectional as possible both in terms of my feminism and social justice in general. Considering the state of race relations today and contemporary American politics, intersectionality is as important now as it was in 1866. It is disappointing to me that this speech from 15o years ago is applicable to the United States as it is today, but let Harper’s words resonate with us as we move forward to repair our society and fight for true liberty and justice for all.