American Sisters: Sarah and Angelina Grimke and the First Fight for Human Rights

Time: Oct. 21, 2016, 3 p.m. - 5 p.m.

Location: Eggers 151

Louise Knight, author of two biographies of Jane Addams, will discuss her book-in-progress, a dual biography of the Grimke sisters, pioneering 19th c. American abolitionists and feminists.

The sisters, born in Charleston, S.C. to a wealthy slaveowning family, fled north in the 1820s to Philadelphia to escape life in a slave state. But their horror at slavery did not translate into social action until the new, immediate abolition movement persuaded them that the institution of slavery could end. They joined the campaign, lecturing widely, organizing abolition societies and gathering petition signatures on slavery.  They were the first American women to travel, lecture and organize for a secular cause. The opportunities the movement gave them and its emphasis in these years on human rights helped the sisters reinterpret their lives as women, while friendships with African American Quaker abolitionists deepened their understanding of racism.

Principal Organizer: Carol Faulkner, History