She Votes, U.S. #2020election - Post 2: Lucy Stone (1818-1893)
Lucy Stone (Stone, not Blackwell) was a pioneer in women’s activism. A strong and independent woman, she chose to not take her husband’s name of Blackwell, hence the emphasis on Lucy Stone. The two chose this together. In their words, the tradition “refused to recognize the wife as an independent, rational being … and conferred on the husband an injurious and unnatural superiority” [5]. And her activism shines through in ways beyond her refusal of taking the man’s last name.
Similar to yesterday’s highlighted suffragist Mary Church Terrell, she graduated from Oberlin College in 1847, making her the first woman of Massachusetts to earn a college degree. [3]. She was in attendance for the first National Women’s Rights conference in 1850 [4]. Her leadership for the movement is exemplified in her speech at the 1852 National Women’s Rights Convention in Syracuse, which was credited for convincing Susan B. Anthony to become a suffragist [3]. Her involvement with the conferences showed her consistent involvement with the movement, and her education along with public speaking skills drew people into her powerful messages.
She had a broad and welcoming vision of social justice contrary to the major suffrage organizations such as the National Woman’s Suffrage Association. As we learned yesterday through the spotlight of Mary Church Terrell, it was not uncommon for white women suffragists to prioritize their voting rights over those of African Americans. They didn’t want to risk their chance for voting rights by standing shoulder to shoulder with Black women and instead decided to please the South, even at the cost of betraying Black activists, whom in the beginning they aligned with [1]. Nevertheless, Stone was known to be welcoming to all suffragists, including Black women [2].
Stone’s support for the Black community was particularly seen in her support for the 15th amendment, which gave Black men the right to vote. As the amendment passed there was a divide amongst women suffragists. NAWSA was offended that the voting circle remained exclusive to men, while Stone, Julia Ward Howe, and other activists viewed it as progress that voting rights were being extended beyond white men [1]. As a result, the latter formed a separate organization called the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA), which advocated that the suppression of racial injustice is never the suppression of women’s rights [4].
As one of the AWSA founders and an editor of their weekly The Women’s Journal, Stone’s activism culminated [4]. Her activism took a pause in 1857 when she had her daughter [5], however, she never stopped setting an example for what a powerful woman is. Stone died in 1871 at the age of 75; 27 years before the 19th amendment passed [5]. Even after she passed away her legacy continued through The Women’s Journal, which was published up until 1931. She will always be remembered as a fighter, leading the way for the rights of women and persons of color.
Authors: Dr. Ashley Milton, Alyssa Kalac, Marina Tsoumpa
References:
1. Dionne, Evette. August 18th, 2017. “Women’s Suffrage Leaders Left Out Black Women” Teen Vogue. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/womens-suffrage-leaders-left-out-black-women
2.Harley, Sharon. 2020. “African American Women and the Nineteenth Amendment.” National Park Services. https://www.nps.gov/articles/african-american-women-and-the-nineteenth-amendment.htm.
3.“Women’s Rights.” March 27th, 2015. National Park Services. https://www.nps.gov/wori/learn/historyculture/lucy-stone.htm#:~:text=Lucy%20Stone%20(1818%2D1893),the%20American%20Anti%2DSlavery%20Society.
4.“Women Suffrage Timeline.” n.d. National Women’s History Museum. https://www.womenshistory.org/resources/timeline/womans-suffrage-timeline.
5.“Women Who Fought for the Vote.” 2020. History. August 14, 2020. https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/women-who-fought-for-the-vote-1.