Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

Born free in Baltimore, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911) became a noted author, abolitionist, Underground Railroad conductor, women’s rights crusader, and a temperance advocate. She lectured at the African Meeting House at least three times between 1854 and 1864.  This image is the frontispiece from Harper's novel Iola Leroy, or Shadows Uplifted, which explores the complicated social implications of racial identity during the Civil War and Reconstruction through the experience of an outspoken female protagonist who, like Harper, defies contemporary expectations about women’s public roles.