Free Black woman, poet, novelist, essayist, speaker, and activist, Frances Watkins Harper was one of the nineteenth centurys most important advocates of Abolitionism and female suffrage, and her pioneering work still has profound lessons for us today.

In this new book, Utz McKnight shows how Harpers life and work inspired her contemporaries to imagine a better America. He seeks to recover her importance by examining not only her vision of the possibilities of Emancipation, but also her subsequent role in challenging Jim Crow. He argues that engaging with her ideas and writings is vital in understanding not only our historical inheritance, but also contemporary issues ranging from racial violence to the role of Christianity.

This lucid book is essential reading not only for students of African American history, but also for all progressives interested in issues of race, politics, and society.

Utz McKnight is Chair of the Department of Gender and Race Studies, and Professor of Political Science, at the University of Alabama.

Preface Chapter One ? Frances Harper?s Poetic Journey Chapter Two ? Iola Leroy: Social Equality Chapter Three ? Trial and Triumph: The Public Demand for Equality Chapter Four ? Sowing and Reaping: Personal Solutions and Conviction Chapter Five ? Minnie?s Sacrifice and the Poetic License Chapter Six ? Conclusion: Of Poems and Politics References