Essay Database

Mary Ann Shadd was the first Black women editor of a newspaper in North America. She worked for racial integration in the United States. With the passage of the fugitive slave act in 1850, she decided that the future of Blacks looked better outside of the United States. Her conviction to the struggle for the rights of Blacks must have been inspired by her father Abraham Shadd, who was an abolitionist and opponent to the American …

…she worked as an enlistment officer. Shadd eventually obtained a Law degree and continued to write letters and articles for newspapers. She increasingly turned attention to gender equality and actively participated in supporting rights for women. Shadd testified before Congress on women's suffrage. During her life she lectured extensively to many groups on subjects including race pride, the Klu Klux Klan, the Republican Party and women's rights. Frederick Douglass spoke highly of Mary Ann Shadd.