Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911)
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper was an early abolitionist and women’s suffrage leader. She was one of the few African American women present at conferences and meetings about these issues between 1854 and 1890. Harper was also a well-known author whose poetry and essays focused on issues of slavery, gender and racial discrimination. Her writings and lectures made Harper one of the first popularizers of African American protest poetry.