Sarah Remond

Sarah Parker Remond participated in the Salem Female Anti-Slavery Society, the Essex County Anti-Slavery Society, and the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. All of these groups helped her understand her rights. After being forcibly ejected from her seat in a Boston theater in 1853 because she was black, Remond sued and was awarded $500 by the First District Court of Essex. In winning, she recognized the power of her words, and in 1856, she joined her brother Charles as a lecturing agent of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, where she thrived. Audiences revered her. Her message was distinct because she drew on her demeanor as a “lady” while recounting episodes of ghastly, forced sexual exploitation of women slaves.