So, yes, she should be celebrated in our passport. And there her quote reads: “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.” If any single quote sums up the purported American values, I’d say that’s it.

When I travel abroad, I think about what it means to be traveling as an American. I feel like an ambassador of sorts — that my behavior, my language skills (or lack thereof), my choice of restaurants or museums reflect not just on me, but on all Americans. I also think about what it means to be traveling as a woman.

When my friend Adriann and I were planning that trip to Morocco, we got a lot of advice: Women should cover their shoulders and their legs. Expect to haggle when shopping. Consider hiring a male guide to navigate the souks of Marrakesh. Some of that advice we followed (we dressed modestly), and some we didn’t (we braved the markets on our own). We asked a lot of questions about what neighborhoods to stay in, where to eat and what sites to see. But we never questioned whether we, as women, could go to Morocco.

No one ever told me I couldn’t go somewhere because I am a woman. No one ever told me I couldn’t vote because I am a woman. And no one ever told me I couldn’t hold a certain job because I am a woman. None of this is to say that the fight for equality is over or that all American women can say the same things. But as an American woman, I am free to travel without a man and without permission. And I can afford to travel because of the education I received and the jobs I’ve held. It is equality that was hard won by countless women who came before me. Women like Anna Julia Cooper.