Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, journalist, suffragist, abolitionist, and civil rights advocate was born on this day in 1842. As a journalist and publisher, Ruffin founded Women’s Era, the first magazine published by an African American woman. She wrote in support of the women’s suffrage movement and against slavery and racism. She also wrote for numerous other newspapers, magazines, and publications and founded the Women’s Era Club. Ruffin was a founding member of the National Association of Colored Women as well as the Boston branch of the NAACP and the League of Women for Community Service. She died in 1924.
Resources
Black Women and the Right to Vote - TIME magazine’s “History You Didn’t Learn” series. This series sheds light on past events that may have been omitted, misleading, or just downright wrong in our History education in school. This 10-minute episode looks at the work of Black voting rights activists throughout history and how they were often sidelined by the mainstream Suffrage movement.
Citizen: 100 Years of Women’s Voting Rights - Twin Cities PBS. From leading activists of all races, such as Indigenous politician Gertrude Bonnin, to Black Progressive Era leaders, such as Nellie Griswold Francis, the vote was seen as a mark of fuller citizenship and a tool for change in areas such as healthcare, children, and women’s rights. Celebrate these suffragists with Citizen, a full-length, hour-long documentary on the struggle for voting rights for women.
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