In antebellum America, black women experienced what some historians have termed 'double jeopardy'. Simply stated, they were discriminated against due to being black and being a woman. Which should take precedence for black women - the struggle for racial justice or gender equality? To many black females in the 'free' North in the early nineteenth century, the path to liberation seemed complicated. It was not complicated, however, to Maria Stewart (1803-1879). When her husband James died in 1829, Maria became even more devout in her faith as a Christian and began thinking about the plight of women and blacks. For her as a black woman, the road to freedom was simple. All blacks and all women deserved to be treated equally, and she would devote her efforts to campaign toward a more just society..
After presenting her writings to the famous abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison in 1831, he decided to print many of her pieces in his zealous, anti-slavery organ Liberator. Her articles proved to compliment the new publication and helped Garrison establish his name as one of the premier anti-slavery agitators in American history. Beyond taking up her pen, Stewart also took up public speaking on behalf of full equality for all people. The sight of a woman boldly proclaiming her societal criticisms in front of not only women - but men as well - was a little too advanced for most people, however.
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Even in relatively liberal Boston, her agitation was not welcome. Blacks (both male and female) denounced her efforts. As both black men and women saw Stewart as violating the virtues of a respectable Victorian woman, her message was drowned out the by the social mores of the era. After raising little more than collective indignation against her own activism, Stewart decided to relocate to New York City. In the 'Big Apple', she flourished for forty years by making contributions to several black self-help societies.
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Maria Stewart may not have successfully advanced the notion that human rights ought never be separated by race, creed or gender to her audiences in the 1830s, but her words and speeches created a foundation for both the civil rights and the feminist movements in the decades following her death.
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The United States and the world owe a debt of gratitude to Maria Stewart, and no student of history or religion should be unaware of her ultimate accomplishments.
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J Roquen