Sarah Parker Remond (1826-1894) was a prominent orator who spoke with the likes of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass. Through her speeches, she denounced segregation and slavery–and encouraged abolitionist support at home and abroad.
Sarah Parker Remond (1826-1894) was a prominent orator who spoke with the likes of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass. Through her speeches, she denounced segregation and slavery–and encouraged abolitionist support at home and abroad.
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History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
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This month, we’re talking about Innovators. These are women who helped shape the world we live in today– from inventors to thinkers. Their decisions to explore new paths led us to where we are now.
Today, we’ll meet a prominent orator who spoke with the likes of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass. Through her speeches, she denounced segregation and slavery – and encouraged abolitionist support at home and abroad.
Let’s talk about Sarah Parker Remond.
Sarah Remond was born in 1826 to a Black affluent family that settled in Salem, Massachusetts, after her father fought in the Revolutionary War. Sarah’s parents were activists and successful business owners who built a catering and hairdressing business.
In 1835, Sarah and her sister were accepted into Salem High School. But within days, due to protests from parents, the school voted to remove all Black children and start a separate school for them. In response, the Remond family moved to Rhode Island, where they hoped to find a community and school that wasn’t so racist.
Instead, when the children applied to public schools in Rhode Island, they were turned away. Eventually, Sarah and her siblings attended a private school founded by Black residents of the town. In 1841 the family returned to Salem where Sarah’s father successfully campaigned to desegregate the Salem school system.
Sarah continued her education by seeking out knowledge for herself. She attended concerts and lectures, and consumed books, newspapers and pamphlets borrowed from friends. She became very involved in the abolitionist movement, joining numerous anti-slavery societies. Her parent’s home had become a meeting place for Black and white abolitionists alike, and even housed at least one runaway enslaved person.
When Sarah was just 16, she gave her first anti-slavery lecture in Groton, Massachusetts. She quickly rose to prominence among abolitionists when she refused to sit in a segregated theater section in 1853. She had purchased tickets to see an opera at the Howard Athenaeum in Boston with some friends. When they arrived, Sarah was directed to segregated seating. She refused to sit and was directed to leave the theater and then was pushed down the stairs. Sarah sued, and was awarded $500, and even received an admission that the theater had been in the wrong. On top of it, the theater was ordered to integrate seating.
In 1856, Sarah and her brother were hired alongside other abolitionists like Susan B. Anthony to tour New York State giving anti-slavery lectures. After a successful tour, she was asked to visit several other states including Ohio, Massachusetts, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
Although she didn’t have as much experience as some of the other speakers, Sarah quickly became a sought-after orator and fundraiser. In 1858, she was invited to take her speeches to Britain. She lectured to crowds throughout the British Isles for the next three years, raising money for abolitionist causes and occasionally standing beside Frederick Douglass.
Sarah used her platform to speak about the exploitation of Black women under slavery, a topic that was considered very taboo at the time. She was able to elicit an emotional response from her audiences by speaking passionately about family, womanhood and marriage.
When the American Civil War began in 1861, Sarah called on the British to stand alongside the Union. In a speech she gave in London she asked, "Let no diplomacy of statesmen, no intimidation of slaveholders, no scarcity of cotton, no fear of slave insurrections, prevent the people of Great Britain from maintaining their position as the friend of the oppressed negro."
After the Civil War ended, Sarah gathered funds and clothing abroad for newly-freed Black people in the United States. She was an active member of the London Emancipation Society and the Freedman's Aid Association in London.
In 1856, she made a sharp turn in her career and studied medicine at London University College, graduating as a nurse. She then moved to Florence, Italy where she continued her studies. Sarah blossomed in Italy – she got married in her fifties and practiced medicine for roughly 20 years.
Sarah never returned to the U.S.
She died in Rome on December 13, 1894 at the age of 79.
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Special thanks to Jenny and Liz Kaplan for inviting me to guest host Womanica this week.
As always, we’ll be taking a break for the weekend. You’ll hear from a new host on Monday!