Sarah Moore Grimké (1792–1873)
Author of On Slavery and Abolitionism (Penguin Classics)
About the Author
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Works by Sarah Moore Grimké
Associated Works
The Heath Anthology of American Literature, Volume 1 (1990) — Contributor, some editions — 255 copies
American Antislavery Writings: Colonial Beginnings to Emancipation (2012) — Contributor — 122 copies
The Glorious American Essay: One Hundred Essays from Colonial Times to the Present (2020) — Contributor — 83 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1792-11-26
- Date of death
- 1873-12-23
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Charleston, South Carolina, USA
- Place of death
- Hyde Park, Massachusetts, USA
- Places of residence
- Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Belleville, New Jersey, USA
Hyde Park, Massachusetts, USA - Education
- private tutors
- Occupations
- abolitionist
teacher
women's rights advocate
lecturer
social reformer - Relationships
- Grimke, Angelina Emily (sister)
Forten, Charlotte (niece)
Grimke, Angelina Weld (great-niece) - Organizations
- Society of Friends
American Anti-Slavery Society - Short biography
- Sarah Moore Grimké and her much younger sister Angelina Emily Grimké, known as the Grimké sisters, were two of the 14 children of a Southern plantation owner and prominent judge. Their father owned hundreds of slaves, but Sarah grew up hating slavery. She wanted to attend university like her brother but was not permitted by her parents. In 1819, she moved to Philadelphia, where she joined the Society of Friends, or Quakers; Angelina joined her a few years later. Sarah and Angelina spent their lives as educators, writers, and early anti-slavery and women's rights advocates. They traveled and lectured about their first-hand knowledge of the evils of slavery, which brought abuse and ridicule for their activism. They were among the American first women to act publicly in social reform movements. In 1836, Sarah wrote An Epistle to the Clergy of the Southern States. Her series of letters published in 1837 in the New England Spectator were later collected under the title Letters on the Equality of the Sexes (1837). The two sisters edited American Slavery as It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses, a collection of stories from southern newspapers written by their editors. Sarah never married. After Angelina's 1838 marriage to Theodore Weld, a fellow abolitionist, Sarah moved with them to Belleville, New Jersey, where they opened a school. They supported President Lincoln during the U.S. Civil War with letters and speeches.
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Statistics
- Works
- 4
- Also by
- 8
- Members
- 84
- Popularity
- #216,911
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 2
- ISBNs
- 11
It's interesting to hear a biblical defense of gender equality. I've never belonged to a church and my experience with other's biblical explanations has not generally been good.
It is heartening if sometimes sad to hear someone explain many of the same points we still have to assert today. From general humanity and equality of spirit and intellectual capacity, to the falsity of 'protective' patriarchy, to the particulars of imposed speech and behavior patterns, domestic drudgery; the difference between sex and taught gender - she even decries 'thoughts and prayers' in a call to activism.
Though some sections are clearly dated and rely on second-hand reports, it's a worthwhile read and often relevant.
It is always useful to be reminded not to excuse people their misogyny due to their age or the era they came from. Turns out women were people back then, too.… (more)