author
Anna J. (Anna Julia) Cooper
1858–1964
Born into slavery and rising to become a scholar, teacher, and activist, she helped shape early Black feminist thought in the United States. Her best-known book, A Voice from the South, remains a landmark work on education, race, and the lives of Black women.
1 Audiobook
A Voice from the South By a Black Woman of the South
by Anna J. (Anna Julia) Cooper
About the author
Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1858, she was educated at Saint Augustine’s and later at Oberlin College, where she earned both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree. She went on to build a long career as an educator, teaching in Washington, D.C., and serving as principal of the renowned M Street High School.
Her 1892 book A Voice from the South made her one of the most important Black intellectual voices of her era. In it, she argued powerfully for the value of education, the full humanity and leadership of Black women, and the idea that social progress depended on justice across both race and gender.
She continued studying and writing well into later life, eventually earning a doctorate from the University of Paris. Living until 1964, she left behind a remarkable legacy as an author, educator, and public thinker whose work still speaks clearly to readers today.