"Why can you take Women's Studies but not Men's Studies?" That's a real question I came across several times online. I was actually shocked. How is this not obvious? All of history is men's studies. Maybe these askers didn't go to school or maybe they didn't listen during instruction. I could tune out sometimes BUT not for ALL of it! I suspect the same people so eager to take a Men's Studies class are also those who ask, "Why is there a Black History Month and not a White History Month." We can apply the same logic: All of history is white men's history. And I say this with the deepest amount of compassion toward those who are genuinely asking the question. Is it ignorant? Yes, but that's what ignorance is, lacking knowledge or awareness in general about a particular thing. If you don't realize how much history has been erased, how would you know what your missing?
Since February is Black History Month, I wanted to focus on significant black women that were originally left out of history completely or significant parts of their stories were erased.
In 2019, the New York Times ran a series of obituaries about remarkable people whose deaths were overlooked beginning in the mid 1800’s. Not surprising, Elizabeth Gloucester was one of them. She died on August 9, 1883, at the age of 66 and was considered to be the richest black woman in America. She made her fortune of about $300,000 (equivalent to about $7M today) largely from owning and operating over 15 boarding homes in Brooklyn which were considered to house “New York’s elite.” When she first moved to New York with her husband, she began selling secondhand clothing while he started as a teacher before moving into ministry.
Elizabeth and James Gloucester were linked to John Brown after they heard him in 1857 giving an anti-slavery lecture in Brooklyn. After this original meeting, he stayed with them when he was in New York and he’s quoted as saying about Elizabeth, “I wish you were a man, for I’d like to have you invade the South with my little band.” When Brown was captured during the Civil War, he was found with a letter from Elizabeth that contained a financial contribution that had been delivered by her personal friend, Frederick Douglass.
How is Elizabeth Gloucester not a significant woman in history? If she had been a man with a similar influence, intelligence, and success, her story would never have been disregarded. The New York Times ONLY mentioned Elizabeth’s rich reputation seven years after her death when they published her husband’s obituary. In it, they made sure to also point out how rare the mixture of race, gender and wealth were by those attending her funeral.
Worth noting: In 1848, Elizabeth’s husband, James Gloucester, founded the Siloam Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn which still stands today. Around 1810, James Gloucester’s father, John Gloucester, founded America’s first African American Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia.
While I was researching my own family connections to Oklahoma, I stumbled on another incredible story. On August 29, 1913, 11-year-old Sarah Rector became the richest black girl in the world when an oil company struck oil on Sarah’s property in Glenpool, Oklahoma. At the time it was the biggest producing well in the country. It was estimated that Sarah would make more than $114,000 per year (equivalent to about $3M today).
The backstory: You might be wondering, like me, how an 11-year-old black girl in 1913 came to own her own property that was about 60 miles away from her family farm in Taft, OK. Sarah and her two siblings were listed on the Creek Nation Freedmen Roll - a treaty that entitled black families of enslaved ancestors to the Creek Nation which gave citizenship and free land allotments between 1898-1914. In reality, the land allotments weren’t free as families were responsible for the annual taxes. Sarah’s land was basically useless described as a “rocky piece of wasteland” and it being so far from the family farm. Joe Rector, Sarah’s father, attempted to sell the land with no luck, so he leased it to an oil company hoping to make enough to pay the taxes. THIS is where Sarah’s amazing story truly begins.
It is an absolute MUST read, but here are a few highlights: After Sarah struck black gold, there were constant fabricated stories about her published in newspapers all over the country which caused multiple kidnapping plots for ransom. For their safety, Sarah and her sister were sent to the prestigious Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute school for black students in Alabama which was started by Booker T. Washington in 1881. He died shortly after Sarah arrived, but Sarah and her sister continued to live near the Washington home, where Margaret Murray Washington lived, for security purposes. She attended Fisk University Prep school in Nashville and high school in Kansas City where at 16 she drove her own car when less than 4% of Americans had one. It was a Premier, a sought-after luxury car (equivalent to $43K today).
During this time in history, when a minority person came into instant wealth, it was common for the court system to appoint white men financial guardianship over all of their finances while stealing from those they were assigned to protect. Sarah was no different having multiple guardians appointed to manage her millions. Leading up to her 18th birthday, Sarah’s mother Rose, was being manipulated to believe that Sarah was incompetent and incapable of managing her money and Rose needed to petition the court so these money hungry, greedy men could continue to be named her guardian to control her finances. However, Sarah outmaneuvered them all by secretly dividing the guardians. On March 4, 1920, the day Sarah turned 18, she voluntarily had a deed of trust executed where Milton Young and TJ Porter would be assigned to administer her affairs which prevented guardianship from being extended. Then on August 12, 1920, five months later, Sarah’s estate was transferred into her name, and she was finally in control of her own finances for good.
Sarah did reconcile with her mother and the entire family relocated to Kansas City. Sarah married her first husband at 20 and they were married for seven years having three sons. She lived a large life loving the jazz scene and was known for entertaining Duke Ellington and Count Basie at her famous Rector Mansion which is still a landmark today in Kansas City. During the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Sarah did lose a portion of her wealth, but not all of it. In 1934, Sarah married her second husband, and they were married for 33 years until her death in 1967. When she died, she still owned working oil wells and real estate in Oklahoma and Kansas City.
While reading about Sarah Rector’s life, I was interested in learning more about Margaret Murray Washington (1865-1925). When I was in school, I remember learning about Booker T. Washington, but I don’t remember his wife. If she was mentioned, it was of no great significance. Margaret Murray Washington was the women’s principal at Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, now Tuskegee University.
“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.” Booker T. Washington
In October of 1920, Margaret Murray Washington gave a speech titled “The Negro Home” at the Memphis Women’s Inter-Racial Conference. Her speech in its entirety can be found at a site called Speaking While Female: Speech Bank. It’s a must read, though I found it extremely difficult to reconcile 104 years after she gave this speech that racism and aporophobia continue. And after reading all the remarkable accomplishments of this incredibly selfless and intelligent woman who spent her days pouring into others, fighting for the less fortunate, and working to empower and educate the illiterate to offer a life of better opportunities, SHE was made to feel less than by men; held back; stifled.
“… the male abolitionists encouraged women to participate, not as equals, but to participate by creating resources, having sewing circles, bazaars, raising money so that the men could go out and lecture and create newspapers. And women accepted this for a while and then gradually they began to speak out. Women formed their own antislavery societies and within these societies they voiced their opinion about abolition.” Margaret Murray Washington
THIS. This spoke to my soul. Margaret Murray Washington made it quite clear that men did not see her or other females as equal. How is a woman with such character, drive, intelligence, and empathy for people viewed in such a diminished manner. She died 99 years ago, yet even today female independence and success can still be seen as threatening to a man’s role in society. It is no wonder I continue to question myself: Am I too much, too strong, too bold? What is wrong with me?
“God
has always given me the strength to say what is right.” Rosa Parks
I remembered learning about Rosa Parks when I was in school,
and I taught basically the same story I learned as an educator from the story
book I read to my classes. The buses were segregated with the front seats
designated for “whites” and the back seats for “blacks.” Rosa was tired after
working a long day when she got on the bus to go home.
After taking a deep dive into her story this year, I found one minor detail that was left out of my education. I NEVER remember being taught, reading or hearing that Rosa Parks never actually sat in the white section which was the first 10 seats behind the bus driver. In reality, she sat in the first row behind the white section. It was when the white section became full that the bus driver, James Blake, determined it was at his discretion to move the line. In 1989, he was quoted in the Washington Post, "So the bus filled up and a white man got on, and she had his seat and I told her to move back, and she wouldn't do it." EW. You can quote me on that. My history books and story books should have read "Rosa refused to give up her black seat for a white man who should be embarrassed for even expecting to take a seat from a woman."
James Blake called the police and Rosa Parks was charged
with refusing to obey orders of a bus driver. Mineola Dozier Smith, an
eyewitness on the bus, repeatedly reported that Rosa Parks was sitting in the
black section. The bus driver even testified in court that there were 14 whites
seated on the bus. This statement alone debunks her charges. There are more yucks
about James Blake’s behavior as a bus driver throughout his 31-year career.
He drove another 20 years after calling the police that day.
Rosa Parks was still convicted under city law. She appealed
in circuit court and was convicted again. Parks v. City of Montgomery, 92 So.2d 683 (Ala. Ct. App.
1957) She appealed again, this time to the Court of Appeals of
Alabama. However, while this appeal was pending, a federal district court ruled
bus segregation unconstitutional in Browder v. Gayle, 142 F. Supp. 707 (M.D. Ala. 1956).
The Supreme Court affirmed, and Montgomery’s buses were desegregated in
December 1956.
“Have
you ever been hurt, and the place tries to heal a bit, and you just pull the
scab off of it over and over again?” Rosa Parks
In November 1957, the state appellate court ruled on Parks’
appeal that her attorney failed to make assignments of error, leaving “nothing
before the court for review.” I suspect that Rosa was tired of pulling the scab
off, so she dropped her appeal to the state supreme court and paid her fines. Even
though the ordinance Parks was convicted of had been ruled unconstitutional,
the conviction still stands today.
“I
was born 50 years after slavery, in 1913. I was allowed to read. My mother, who
was a teacher, taught me when I was a very young child. The first school I
attended was a small building that went from first to sixth grade. There was
one teacher for all of the students. There could be anywhere from 50 to 60
students of all different ages.” Rosa Parks
Ruby Nell Bridges was one of four girls to integrate
the public school system in New Orleans at William Frantz Elementary School on
November 14, 1960, at the age of six. On the same day in New Orleans, Leona
Tate, Gail Etienne, and Tessie Prevost were the other
three girls who attended McDonogh 19 Elementary School.
In 1954, the Supreme Court ruling of Brown vs. The Board of Education ordered all schools to desegregate. However, the ruling made no difference for six more years in New Orleans until the civil rights movement began moving through their neighborhoods knocking on doors. Ruby’s parent’s door was one of them. Her parents were asked if they’d be willing to send Ruby to an integrated school for the first time in the city. It could offer her a better opportunity for education and the possibility to go to college. Her parents were sharecroppers from Mississippi when Ruby was born in Tylertown, Mississippi, on September 8, 1954. Just like any other parent, they wanted to give Ruby more opportunities at a better life than they had, so the idea to attend college was something they weren’t willing to pass up.
On the first day of school, US Federal Marshals picked up Ruby and her mother from their home to escort her to school. When they arrived, two Marshals walked in front and two walked behind them to guard Ruby from the angry, crazy, screaming white people losing their minds because this tiny little black girl was attending school with their children. Disturbingly, Ruby was “greeted" at the front door by a woman holding a black doll in a wooden coffin. The US Marshals continued escorting Ruby to school every single day the rest of the school year through the exact same mob of lunatics. For approximately 6 months they unleashed their anger on a kindergartner. Can you imagine?
It wasn’t until she was 17 that she saw the Norman Rockwell
painting of her being escorted by US Marshals for the first time. In multiple
interviews, she describes not understanding why the mobs of people were
screaming on that first day of school. She didn’t realize it was directed at
her. Living in New Orleans, she thought it must be Mardi Gras and they were in
a parade. In the beginning, her innocence of the world protected her from
realizing she was the target of their rage.
“Kids
come into the world with clean hearts, fresh starts. Racism is a grown-up
disease, and we should stop using our kids to spread it.” Ruby Bridges
The anger didn’t remain outside the school walls. It penetrated the building with every single teacher at that school refusing to teach Ruby. Teacher, Barbara Henry, from Boston, and brand new to New Orleans, would be Ruby’s teacher. Ruby would be the only student in Barbara’s class that year because all the other children were pulled out by their parents. Ruby wasn’t allowed to go to the cafeteria or outside for recess with the other students once parents returned them to school. When she needed to use the restroom, Ruby was escorted by a Federal Marshal.
Every single day, Mrs. Henry greeted Ruby at the front
door of the building to show her love, care, and safety after walking through
the angry mob of white people. Incredibly, Ruby didn’t miss one day of school
that year. She loved her teacher, and she loved school. Ruby Bridges said that
Barbara Henry taught her exactly what Dr. King preached. You can’t judge people
by the color of their skin. Barbara Henry, who was white, was the exact opposite
of the white people who were outside screaming and throwing things at her every
day as she was escorted up to the school building. In a recent interview, I
heard Ruby Bridges say that Barbara Henry is one of her best friends.
During Ruby’s second year at William Frantz Elementary, she no longer needed to be escorted by Marshals. She walked to school on her own & was in a classroom with other students.
“You have to know where you come from to know where you are going. No matter how painful, once it’s revealed, a huge weight is lifted off your shoulders and you can just move on.” Ruby Bridges
Because women have been erased from history, I believe this is why girls just like me continue to question their own female independence. Reading about these women in history, knowing they felt disregarded while participating and contributing so significantly to the world around them saddens me. It angers me that their stories remained buried for so long to keep women in their place. The idea that men wanted to ensure there weren’t any freethinking women to rally the troops or muddy the waters baffles me.
Is it so emasculating that I have an opinion; that I’d like to first attempt to figure things out on my own, physically or mentally; that I require myself to be financially independent to ensure that I can always take care of myself? Is all of this so unappealing that it makes it difficult to be seen as a romantic partner?
**I was raised by an amazing dad (and mom) who taught me to be strong, stand for what I believe in, have my own opinions, and take responsibility for taking care of myself while also showing compassion, empathy, and respect for others. I am married to a wonderful husband who appreciates my independence and respects my opinions. I know there are good, amazing men that exist in this world, too, and I'm thankful I know many.
Links to amazing stories, articles and videos:
16 personalities: Free 10 minute test
Overlooked No More: Elizabeth Gloucester NY Times
NY Times Article: Elizabeth Gloucester
America's First African American Presbyterian Church
Sarah listed on the Creek Freedmen 1898-1914
Collection of Newspaper Articles 1913-1961
Sarah: The Richest Black Girl in America 1913 By Lauren N. Henley
1915Newspaper Article Sarah Sues Oil Producer for $1.7M
OKNPR Sarah Rector story from family perspective
October 6-7, 1920 -Entire Conference documented here
Margaret Murray Washington: Women's Interracial Conference Memphis 1920
Ruby Bridges Interview Norman Rockwell Museum 11:02
Ruby Bridges & US
Marshal NOW 2:30 min video
