Angelina Weld Grimké (1880-1958) was an African-American poet and playwright. Born into a prominent abolitionist family, her work often touched on themes of race and racism, at a time when women were rarely publishing work on the topic. Though she was never able to openly express her sexuality, much of her writing is coded in queer language.
Angelina Weld Grimké (1880-1958) was an African-American poet and playwright. Born into a prominent abolitionist family, her work often touched on themes of race and racism, at a time when women were rarely publishing work on the topic. Though she was never able to openly express her sexuality, much of her writing is coded in queer language.
Special thanks to our exclusive Pride Month sponsor, Mercedes-Benz! Mercedes-Benz continues to support and stand with the LGBTQIA+ community. Listen all month long as we celebrate women whose authentic expression in their lives and bodies of work have expanded the norms of gender and sexuality in the performing arts.
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.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Ale Tejeda, Sara Schleede, and Alex Jhamb Burns. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.
We are offering free ad space on Wonder Media Network shows to organizations working towards social justice. For more information, please email Jenny at pod@wondermedianetwork.com.
Follow Wonder Media Network:
Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan and this is Womanica.
This month we’re highlighting queer stars of the stage and screen: women who expanded the norms of gender and sexuality in front of and behind the curtain/camera.
Today, we’re talking about an African-American poet and playwright. Born into a prominent abolitionist family, her work often touched on themes of race and racism, at a time when women were rarely publishing work on the topic. Though she was never able to openly express her sexuality, much of her writing is coded in queer language. Let’s talk about Angelina Weld Grimke.
Angelina was born on February 27, 1880 in Boston, Massachusetts to an interracial l couple. Her mother, Sarah Stanley, was a white woman. Her father, Archibald Grimké, was Black, the son of a white landowner and a Black, enslaved woman. Archibald went on to become the second Black man to graduate from Harvard law school and served as the vice-president of the NAACP.
Racial and gender equality was a goal for many members of Angelina’s extended family. Two of her great-aunts, Angelina and Sarah Grimké, had been notable advocates for the causes of women’s rights and abolition.
At the time, interracial marriage was rare. Angelina’s parents’ relationship was a fraught one, ., leading to a turbulent childhood A few years after her birth, her parents separated, and Angelina went with her mother to Michigan,.
Archibald really wanted custody over his daughter, and several years later, Angelina returned to live with him. Archibald had impossibly high standards for his daughter and often expressed disappointment that she hadn’t made more of herself. It was also around this time that Angelina’s mother Sarah died by suicide.
Despite his disappointments, Angelina’s father ensured that she was educated at the best schools – which often meant mostly,, if not entirely, white schools. In an 1892 class photograph, Angelina is seen holding hands with a classmate, possibly hinting at her hidden sexuality.
In 1894, Archibald was appointed as American Consul to the Dominican Republic. Angelina went to Washington DC to stay with her uncle Francis while her father lived abroad. Angelina was a rebellious and angsty teen, and clashed with her relatives.. Eventually she was sent to Carleton Academy in Minnesota.
It was there, in Minnesota, that Angelina wrote some of her first poems. t Many of them described a yearning for a female companion. It is speculated that the woman often addressed in these pieces was a classmate, Mary Edith Karn.
In a letter to Mary, Angelina wrote : I know you are too young now to become my wife, but I hope, darling, that in a few years you will come to me and be my love, my wife! How my brain whirls how my pulse leaps with joy and madness when I think of these two words, ‘my wife’
Eventually, Angelina returned to Massachusetts and in 1902, she graduated from the Boston Normal School of Gymnastics, now a part of Wellesley College. After graduating, she moved back to DC to teach English. Around this time, at just 23 years old, Angelina vowed never to marry or have children. She kept that promise.
As she settled into her teaching career,, she began writing more. Initially, she published several short stories and poems, often containing themes of romance and longing, though some of her work began to touch on racial themes, too.
In 1916, Angelina’s play Rachel was produced by the Drama Committee of the NAACP in Washington, D.C. The play was a response to the 1915 release of the racist film, the Birth of a Nation.
Rachel, likely Angelina’s most controversial work, was a play about a Black woman who is terrified by the cruelties of racism in society and vows never to bring children into the world. The plot paralleled Angelina’s own feelings about having children in a racist society. Some critics argued that the play was preaching “race suicide” but that was not Angelina’s intention.
In the playbill of the first production, the play was described as “...the first attempt to use the stage for race propaganda in order to enlighten the American people relative to the lamentable condition of the ten million of colored citizens in this free Republic.”
In 1928, Angelina retired from teaching in order to help care for her aging father. After his death in 1930, she moved to New York City and stopped writing. For the next nearly thirty years, she lived a reclusive life until her death in 1958 at age 78.
For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!