Basic Information 

Sarah Mapps Douglass was an African American woman, best known for her efforts as an abolitionist, educator, artist, and Quaker. She was born to Robert and Grace Douglass on September 9, 1806, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The maternal side of her family was very active in the abolition movement, being members of the Free African Society. Throughout her life, Sarah had a strong connection to the abolition movement and often used her literature skills to share her thoughts on political and social matters. Douglass was also a close friend to both Sarah and Angelina Grimke, two abolitionists from North Carolina.  

Background Information 

Douglass was born into one of the more prominent African American families of the time. She lived in Philadelphia with her family and was one of the six children of Robert and Grace Douglass. Douglass and her family faced discrimination and prejudice regularly. Despite this, her grandfather, Cyrus Bustill attempted to overcome these hindrances. He acquired the necessary skills and resources to open a bakery after his liberation. Over time, funds from the bakery allowed him to own and operate a school for Black children. In his efforts he also became one of the first members of the Free African Society (Popova, 2021). Similarly, Douglass’s mother, Grace Douglass, also worked to establish a school for Black children in 1819 and was “a founding member of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society” (Bacon, 2001, p. 28). The efforts of Bustill and his daughter, Sarah’s mother, allowed Sarah to be raised in a relatively comfortable manner. She had a middle class upbringing which allowed her to have an appreciation for the arts, literature, music, and nature, among other concepts. Douglass was also raised with strong Quaker values, often attending meetings with her mother. She very briefly went to a Quaker school, but eventually attended the school that her mother helped to establish. In 1825, Douglass became a teacher at her mother’s school but later moved from Pennsylvania to New York in 1833 to teach at the Free African School for Girls. She eventually moved back to Philadelphia and opened her own school. From 1852 to 1853, Douglass attended the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania where she studies both anatomy and physiology, and several years later in 1855, she helped to audit several courses for the college (Bacon, 2001). She eventually married Reverend William Douglass in 1855, but often expressed that the marriage was not a happy one. After her husband’s death in 1861, she continued her activism work until her death in 1882.  

Contributions to the First Wave  

Being surrounded by many politically active members in her early years, Sarah Mapps Douglass herself was a very active abolitionist and suffragist who made many substantial contributions to the first wave. A widely held belief of the time was that African Americans, especially women, were lesser due to their education status. Due to this misconception, at 25, Douglass helped found the Female Literary Association in 1831. The group was comprised of African American women who believed “they had a duty to develop their God-given intellectual powers” (Lindhorst, 1998, p. 263). Being that many people of color, especially women of color, were not given the chance to gain a formal education, the Female Literary Association was a key organization. An overarching goal of the association was “self-improvement” and more specifically, it was a way for African American women to “challenge white-belief in the intellectual inferiority of African Americans” (Lindhorst, 1998, p. 269). The group met weekly to develop their reading and writing skills, as well as have productive discussions in the area of emancipation and suffrage. An abolitionist newspaper, The Liberator, owned and operated by a friend of the Douglass family, Lloyd Garrison, often publish the work of the association.  

Having her work published, Douglass often wrote under the pen name “Zillah”. Her work often spoke to the social and political issues of the time (Bacon, 2001, p. 29). One entry specifically discussed the hardships of a young African American girl named Elizabeth. The work highlighted the discrimination and prejudices Elizabeth faced and the entry greatly drew from Sarah’s own life. It was intended to convey to white readers the unjust treatment and behaviors that many Black women faced. Douglass also spoke with a formerly enslaved individual after their liberation. She used her skills to share the horrors of slavery and urged free, mainly white women, to aid in the emancipation efforts (Lindhorst, 1998). Douglass would continue to be an active member of the Female Literary Association, as well as write many political and social entries for The Liberator, The Anglo-African, and The National Anti-Slavery Standard (Dickinson, 2013).  

Sarah Mapps Douglass would often visit with white abolitionists in hopes of bridging the gap between white and Black abolitionists. This interaction mainly stemmed from her contributions to the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society. In 1838, the society also helped with funding and controls of the school that Sarah had founded, although, she opted to take complete control of the school in 1841 (Bacon, 2001). This decision was due to the white majority of the Philadelphia Female Anti-Slavery Society. Sarah felt that the organization did not truly represent the educational needs and desires of African American individuals. Considering that Douglass saw Black education as an important step towards equality, she wanted her institution to be ran by like-minded individuals who could understand her positioning (Dunbar, 2008).  

Douglass’s literary skills aided her other contributions to the first wave. When writing to Sarah and Angelina Grimke, Douglass would often express the racism within the Quaker Religion. Quaker meetings on Arch Street were said to have segregated seating where Douglass and her mother were forced to sit. In Sarah’s account of one meeting in particular, she states “that there is a bench set apart at that meeting for our people, that my mother and myself were told to sit there, and that a friend sat at either end of the bench to prevent white persons from sitting there” (Dunbar, 2008, p. 93). In sharing this experience with her friends, Douglass influenced several other prominent abolitionists to stop attending the Quaker church on Arch Street. She also shared this experience in several newspapers, which further encouraged white abolitionist to think about the rights of Black women (Dunbar, 2008).  

 

“One short year ago, how different were my feelings on the subject of slavery! It is true, the wail of the captive sometimes came to my ear in the midst of my happiness, and caused my heart to bleed for his wrongs; but, alas! the impression was as evanescent as the early cloud and morning dew” 

~ Sarah Mapps Douglass (BlackPast, 2008)

Analysis and Conclusion 

In conclusion, Sarah Mapps Douglass was an individual who made many contributions to the first wave. She gained both knowledge and an awareness of social and political issues through her upbringing. She was able to recognize that many, specifically African American women, did not have access to a formal education. This realization aided her in creating spaces where the voices of marginalized communities could be heard. Her work in the Female Literary Association and the creation of her school for African-American girls were two spaces that showcase this the most. Despite racism and prejudice, in these organizations Douglass contributed to the advancement of African American education. In doing so, she gave African American individuals the chance to gain an education when they may not have otherwise had. 

Her contributions to anti-slavery organizations and various African American societies also educated white individuals. In sharing her experiences of racism and prejudice, Douglass was able to educate many white abolitionists on the struggles of Black people. If not for Douglass and her literary skills, many of these struggles would not have been brought to light. Through her writing, she was able to address many stereotypes and other racist beliefs that were held towards African Americans. She also built close relationships with white abolitionists who further shared these experiences. Specifically, her relationship with Sarah and Angelina Grimke was one that  pushed her to expose racism in various institutions. Most importantly, Douglass stayed true to her beliefs even at the cost of social relations. When confronted by white abolitionists, particularly regarding the issue of funding, Douglass always opted to do things her own way. One can say that this was a result of her upbringing, but nevertheless, she had clear political and social goals that could not be altered by outside pressures. Although there is not much literature surrounding her contributions, she made substantial steps in fighting for the equality of both women and people of color.   

References 

(Image) “a token of love from me, to thee” [graphic] / S.M. Douglass. Library Company of Philadelphia Digital Collections. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2022, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/digitool%3A126615?solr_nav%5Bid%5D=24c5b0e4a405cd242dd7&solr_nav%5Bpage%5D=0&solr_nav%5Boffset%5D=1 

Bacon, M. H. (2001). New Light on Sarah Mapps Douglass and Her Reconciliation with Friends. Quaker History, 90(1), 28–49, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27774117 

BlackPast. (2019, October 5). (1832) Sarah Mapps Douglas urges support for the anti-slavery cause •. •. Retrieved October 26, 2022, https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/1832-sarah-mapps-douglas-urges-support-anti-slavery-cause/ 

Dickinson, M. (2021, February 25). Sarah Mapps Douglass. The Fight for Black Mobility: Traveling to Mid-Century Conventions. Retrieved October 27, 2022, https://coloredconventions.org/black-mobility/associated-women/sarah-mappsdouglass/#:~:text=Sarah%20married%20anti%2Dslavery%20advocate%20and%20minister%20William%20Douglass%20in%201855.&text=Sarah%20Mapps%20Douglass.,the%20Library%20Company%20of%20Philadelphia.  

Dunbar, E. A. (2008). A fragile freedom : African American women and emancipation in the antebellum city. Yale University Press, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/washington/detail.action?docID=3420515. 

Lindhorst, M. (1998). Politics in a Box: Sarah Mapps Douglass and the Female Literary Association, 1831-1833. Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies, 65(3), 263–278, http://www.jstor.org/stable/27774117 

Popova, M. (2021, June 16). Sarah Mapps Douglass’s flowers: The first surviving art signed by an African-American woman. The Marginalian. Retrieved November 8, 2022, https://www.themarginalian.org/2021/06/16/sarah-mapps-douglass-flowers/