Sarah Parker Remond (b. 1824 –d. 1894)
Born in Salem Massachusetts to a prominent black family, Remond began speaking about issues of slavery at the young age of 16 in 1842. She was a prominent abolitionist and lectured around America, the United Kingdom, and Europe advocating for the end of slavery. During her lectures, she recounted the brutal realities enslaved and free black people faced in America and sought donations for the anti-slavery movement. Remond herself, while from an affluent family faced indignities due to the color of her skin. In 1853, while visiting a theater was forced to leave and pushed down a flight of stairs after her refusal to be seated in a segregated area of the theater; she sued the theater and won. While in the United Kingdom, in 1859 she studied at the Bedford College for Women where she founded the Ladies’ London Emancipation Society and began to introduce women’s suffrage into her activism. She is thought to be the first black student to attend Bedford College and is thought to be the only black woman among 1500 others to sign the 1866 petition for women’s voting rights. While at Bedford College she surrounded herself with prominent activists such as Clementina Taylor who philanthropist, suffragist, and women’s health advocate. After graduating, she moved to Italy in 1866, married, and studied medicine at Santa Maria Nuovo and practiced medicine in Italy for over 20 years.
Additional Sources:
Iowa State University Archives of Women’s Political Communication Short Biography:
https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/directory/sarah-parker-remond/
Iowa State University Archives of Women’s Political Communication – Remond Speech- “The Negroes in the United States of America” (1862):
https://awpc.cattcenter.iastate.edu/2019/09/12/the-negroes-in-the-united-states-of-america-1862/
University of London Short Biography:
https://london.ac.uk/news-and-opinion/leading-women/a-voice-freedom-life-sarah-parker-remond
Women’s Suffrage Resources:
https://www.suffrageresources.org.uk/resource/3216/sarah-parker-remond
Wellesley Centers for Women:
