The Black Suffragist

A Documentary Film

The Trailblazers

During a time when African Americans did not have fundamental human rights, pioneering black women pursued the right to vote. Uniquely, neither male nor white, they advocated universal suffrage for all from the church, convention halls, and across continents. Their unrelenting activism, not often duly noted, contributed to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, which eventually gave all women the constitutional right to vote. There are scores of unsung trailblazers that were hidden in history. Presented here are five (among many) from the monumental early-day women’s rights movement. 
Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth (ca. 1797-1883) was born, Isabella Baumfree. She was first sold at 9 and remained enslaved on the Dumont farm for 17 years. New York State passed a law that was set to emancipate her on July 4, 1827. However, Truth escaped in 1826 with her infant daughter, Sophia. An abolitionist couple, Isaac and Maria Van Wagenen provided mother and child shelter. And subsequently they purchased the pioneer’s freedom for $20. After experiencing a spiritual awakening, she changed her name to Sojourner Truth and became an itinerant minister. Although she could not read or write, Truth became a captivating orator and crusader for abolition and women’s suffrage. In 1851, she delivered her speech, “Ain’t I a Woman,” in Akron, Ohio. Her powerful words continue to resonate.

Frances E. W. Harper

At the age of three, Frances Ellen Watkins-Harper (1825-1911) was orphaned, and raised by her maternal aunt Henrietta and her husband, Reverend William Watkins. She began writing early on. In 1845, her collection of poems entitled “Forest Leaves,” was published making her one of the first African-American women to be published in the United States. After delivering the speech “Education and the Elevation of the Colored Race,” she joined the lecture circuit with notable abolitionists like Frederick Douglas and Lucretia Mott. In 1858, the activist refused to be seated in the “colored” section of a segregated Philadelphia trolley car (almost 100 years before Rosa Parks). She later became an advocate for women’s suffrage. Watkins-Harper was a founding member of the National Association of Colored Women.

Mary Church Terrell

Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954) was an educator, writer, and organizer who also focused on anti-lynching and Jim Crow segregation laws. The daughter of formerly enslaved persons who became successful entrepreneurs in Memphis, Tennessee, Terrell was one of the first Black women to obtain a college degree from Oberlin College. The activist also became the first Black woman appointed to the Washington, D.C.’s Board of Education, and led a successful campaign to desegregate the city’s hotels and restaurants. A strident supporter of women’s rights, she was a woman born ahead of time. The pioneer was once quoted as saying: “While most girls run away from home to marry, I ran away to teach.”

Ida B. Wells

Journalist, Ida B. Wells (1858-1964) was a prominent anti-lynching activist and supporter of women’s rights. A co-founder of the Alpha Suffrage Club, Chicago’s first African American suffrage organization, she was also a founding member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She and her peers often faced discrimination from within the women’s movement. During the 1913 suffrage march in Washington, D.C., Wells and other Black suffragists were told to walk at the end of the procession. The activist refused. “Either I go with you or not at all,” she told organizers. “I am not taking this stand because I personally wish for recognition. I am doing it for the future benefit of my whole race.”

Nannie Helen Burroughs

Nannie Helen Burroughs (1863-1954) was born in Orange, Virginia. She attended the M Street school in Washington, D.C., and graduated with honors. Burroughs was a founding member of the National Association of Colored Women and the National Association of Wage Earners, which worked to standardize and improve living conditions for women. In 1990, she accepted a position on the Board of the National Baptist Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. During this time, she delivered her well-received speech, “How the Sisters are Hindered from Helping.” She was active in the anti-lynching movement and women’s rights. The activist saw a woman’s right to vote as a tool for change. In 1907, she established the National Trade and Professional School for Women and Girls.

About Us

Hidden History No More

The “battle for the ballot” was won due to the extraordinary efforts of activists like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. But unfortunately, the contributions of women of color to the suffrage movement are often overlooked and undervalued. The documentary film “The Black Suffragist” brings to light the journeys of crusaders like New Yorker Sojourner Truth and their pursuit of gender equity.

Women in America won the right to vote on August 18, 1920, due to the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Even so, it would take several decades before all women would have the constitutional right to vote. Rooted in the anti-slavery movement, women’s rights officially began in 1848 at the New York Seneca Falls Convention. However, years earlier trailblazing women like the evangelist Jarena Lee (1783 – 1864) struggled for gender equity, as they assisted in the groundwork for the anti-slavery movement within the male-dominated church. The Black Suffragist is due for release in August 2024.
Filmmaker, Jennifer Rolle, is the creative spirit behind THE BLACK SUFFRAGIST. The indie film is being produced under the Cat Island Cinema banner. A lover of film since an early age, Rolle was introduced to various genres by her movie-enthusiast mom. A “history nerd,” she has an interest in the Antebellum South, Civil War, and Reconstruction periods. Jennifer has a background in advertising, marketing, and communications. When not at work bringing her documentary to a theatrical audience, she produces the podcast BLACK SUFFRAGIST IN THE SPOTLIGHT.

Please forward inquiries to theblacksuffragist@gmail.com.