© Public DomainGetty Images

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911) -

Born free in Baltimore, Maryland, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper had a long and prolific career, publishing her first book of poetry at the age of 20. She also helped found the National Association of Colored Women.

© Getty Images

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911) -

At 67, she published her widely praised novel 'Iola Leroy' (1892), making her the first Black woman to publish a novel. Harper gave anti-slavery lectures for several years in the US and Canada, which helped sales of her books. However, she diverted a large share of those proceeds to benefit the Underground Railroad where she lived.

© Public Domain

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911) -

In 1866, Harper delivered a memorable speech at the National Women's Rights Convention, calling for participants to include Black women in the suffrage movement. She would later serve as vice president of the National Association of Colored Women in 1897.

© Public Domain

Myrtilla Miner (1815-1864) -

Myrtilla Miner first witnessed the reality of slavery while teaching at Newton Female Institute in Mississippi, and requested to teach African-American girls. She was declined and forced to leave the state. She moved to Friendship, New York, where she developed a project that trained African-American girls to be teachers.

© Public Domain

Myrtilla Miner (1815-1864) -

In 1851, Miner opened a school in Washington, D.C. named the Normal School for Colored Girls. The school faced harassment and mobs tried to burn it down. Pictured here are first graders from Miner Normal School, around 1910.

© Public Domain

Myrtilla Miner (1815-1864) -

Though the school had to close in 1860, it opened again as the Institution for the Education of Colored Youth in 1865. It later became part of the University of the District of Columbia.

© Getty Images

Laura Smith Haviland (1808-1898) -

Born in Ontario, Canada, Laura Smith Haviland helped establish one of the first Underground Railroad stations in Michigan. She also co-founded the nondiscriminatory Raisin Institute with her husband.

© Getty Images

Laura Smith Haviland (1808-1898) -

Haviland made many trips through Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana, developing elaborate plans to help fugitives escape slavery by making the journey to Canada.

© Public Domain

Laura Smith Haviland (1808-1898) -

During the Civil War, Haviland helped with relief efforts and, afterward, she continued assisting formerly enslaved people. She also founded an orphanage for Black children and published the autobiography 'A Woman's Life Work: Labors and Experiences of Laura S. Haviland.'

© Public Domain

Lydia Maria Child (1802-1880) -

One of the 19th-century's most popular writers, Lydia Maria Child shocked her audience as she tried to take on issues of both male dominance and white supremacy in some of her stories. Despite facing hardships and criticism, Child continued to advocate for abolition, protesting even through her way of life.

© Getty Images

Lydia Maria Child (1802-1880) -

She became part of the American Anti-Slavery Society's executive committee, and from 1841 to 1843 she edited the National Anti-Slavery Standard newspaper. She edited and published several anti-slavery books.

© Public Domain

Harriet Jacobs (1813/1815-1897) -

Born into slavery in North Carolina, Harriet Jacobs is best remembered for her autobiography 'Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl,' which details the abuses she faced in the household of Dr. James Norcom.

© Public Domain

Harriet Jacobs (1813/1815-1897) -

Edited by fellow abolitionist Lydia Maria Child, the book brought to light the difficult circumstances of an enslaved woman, fighting unceasing sexual advances. After escaping Norcom, and being constantly on the run, Jacobs eventually moved north to Rochester, New York, and worked with abolitionists.

© Public Domain

Lucretia Mott (1793-1880) -

Lucretia Mott was a Quaker minister who dedicated her life to the causes of abolition and women's rights. She also advocated for the boycott of products made through the labor of those who were enslaved.

© Getty Images

Lucretia Mott (1793-1880) -

In 1833, she attended the first meeting of the American Anti-Slavery Society and was the only woman to speak. She also helped found the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society, an interracial organization run by women.

© Getty Images

Lucretia Mott (1793-1880) -

After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed, Mott's home became a stop for freedom seekers on the Underground Railroad, and in 1866 she became the first president of the American Equal Rights Association.

© Getty Images

Sarah Parker Remond (1826-1894) -

Born free in Salem, Massachusetts, Remond was part of a family of successful businesspeople. She began to lecture in opposition to slavery at 16. Eventually becoming an agent of the American Anti-Slavery Society, in 1858 Remond went to Britain to gather support for the growing abolitionist cause in the US.

© Public Domain

Sarah Parker Remond (1826-1894) -

From the UK, Remond went to Italy to pursue medical training in Florence. She practiced medicine for nearly 20 years in Italy and never returned to the US.

© Public Domain

Abby Kelley Foster (1811-1887) -

A teacher, Abby Kelley Foster used her skills as a lecturer and educator to continually advance the causes of women's rights and abolition. Foster joined the town's Female Anti-Slavery Society, and afterward was sent as a delegate for the first Anti-Slavery Convention of American Women.

© Public Domain

Abby Kelley Foster (1811-1887) -

Foster believed in full and legal equality for Black people, along with the abolition of slavery, and encouraged abolitionists to leave churches that didn't condemn slavery.

© Getty Images

Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823-1893) -

Mary Ann Shadd Cary was born free and lived in an abolitionist home that frequently helped enslaved people on the run. After Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which compelled Americans to help capture those who ran from enslavement, Shadd Cary and some of her family moved to Canada.

© Public Domain

Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823-1893) -

In Canada, Shadd Cary advocated for Blacks to immigrate there, and she also founded the anti-slavery newspaper the Provincial Freeman, which made her the first Black woman newspaper editor in North America. When the Civil War began, she returned to the US to recruit Black soldiers for the Union Army. She later moved to Washington and founded a school for Black children. She also earned a law degree, becoming one of the first Black female lawyers in the US.

© Public Domain

Harriet Forten Purvis (1810-1875) -

Harriet Forten Purvis was an abolitionist and first generation suffragist. She participated in the society's sewing committee, which opened a sewing school in a poverty-stricken region. She also helped launch a boycott of slave labor products, such as vegetables, fruit, and cotton.

© Public Domain

Harriet Forten Purvis (1810-1875) -

The daughter of influential abolitionists Charlotte Vandine Forten and James Forten (pictured), Purvis was biracial. Together with her mother and three sisters, she helped found the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society in 1833.

© Public Domain

Harriet Forten Purvis (1810-1875) -

In 1832, she married Robert Purvis (pictured), who also came from a prominent abolitionist family. Their home in Byberry, Pennsylvania, became a major station on the Underground Railroad for freedom seekers.

© Public Domain

Charlotte Forten Grimké (1837-1914) -

The niece of Harriet Forten Purvis, Charlotte Forten Grimké was born free into a prominent family of abolitionists. While living in Salem, Massachusetts, Grimké attended anti-slavery lectures, wrote poems opposing slavery, and joined the Female Anti-Slavery Society.

© Getty Images

Charlotte Forten Grimké (1837-1914) -

In 1862, Forten went to St. Helena Island, South Carolina, to teach formerly enslaved people. There, she kept detailed journals, which were then published in Atlantic Monthly as a two-part essay entitled 'Life on the Sea Islands' in 1864. Later, in 1896, she helped found the National Association of Colored Women.

© Getty Images

Prudence Crandall (1803-1890) -

In 1831, Prudence Crandall opened a girls' academy that soon became one of the best in Connecticut. The next year, Crandall admitted a young Black woman named Sarah Harris, which was met with intense hostility and opposition from the townspeople. But Crandall stayed firm in her decision, attracting several Black students to her school.

© Public Domain

Prudence Crandall (1803-1890) -

In 1833, when the Black Law made it illegal to teach Black students from states other than Connecticut, Crandall was arrested. Though her arrest was overturned in higher courts, Crandall closed the school to protect her students' safety. She would later settle in Illinois, where she continued in education.

Sources: (Stacker) (History Channel) (ThoughtCo)

See also: Defining moments in Black history

© Getty Images