Maria W. Stewart & Maya Angelou: Notable Poets, Essayists & Activists - Research Paper

Introduction

Maria W. Stewart and Maya Angelou are notable poets, essayists, and activists who addressed contentious social and political issues. They used speeches and writings to express their determination to invoke positive actions that could assist in mitigating the controversial social issues. Consequently, their contributions to various political and social problems during their era were invaluable. An assessment of multiple books, articles, and journals will depict the poetical approach that the two women used as human activists fighting for equal rights. Maria W. Stewart and Maya Angelou lived during an era when prejudice against African Americans was high; they exploited spoken and written words to articulate for equality in society. Therefore, the duo is genuine activists who ferociously fought for empowerment and equality when oppression was common, and the women were assumed to be voiceless and powerless.

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Maria W. Stewart

In 1803, Maria Miller was born in Hartford, Connecticut. There is limited information on her parents' background, and when she was about five years, her parents died (Streitmatter 15). Being an orphan, she was compelled to be an indentured servant serving a clergyman until she was almost 15 years old. Maria Miller read widely and attended Sabbath schools to educate herself to cater to her informal schooling. Hence, Maria worked as a servant to support her Sabbath school's educational needs. In 1826, she married a shipping agent, James W. Stewart, who had fought the War of 1812 (Streitmatter 15). Her marriage empowered her to be affiliated with Boston's sizable free black community. She became a member of the Massachusetts General Colored Association that was determined to eradicate slavery.

In 1829, James W. Stewart died, and her inheritance was snatched from her through a lengthy legal action that white executors who exploited her husband's will. Maria W. Stewart was left broke. Additionally, six months after her husband's demise, David Walker, an African- American abolitionist, died (Roberts 1). The tragic incidences contributed to Mrs. Stewart's religious conversion that convinced her that she was supposed to be a liberator for freedom and religion for the oppressed African-Americans. In her three years of marriage, she did not have children, and she decided to give public lectures on slavery and oppression. On 12th September 1832, Maria W. Stewart became the first American woman to the public in Boston's Franklin Hall, addressing racial and abolition issues (Streitmatter 16). Mrs. Stewart's public speeches initiated her activist role in addressing gender and racial discrimination.

Public Lecturers and Writings

In 1831, William Lloyd Garrison advertised for black women writers to contribute to his abolitionist cause through his newspaper, the Liberator. Mrs. Stewart expressed her intention to contribute to Garrison's newspaper. In 1831, her first article, Religion and the Pure Principles of Morality, was published (Roberts 2). The publications inspired Mrs. Stewart to begin her public lecturers during an era when religion banned women from speaking publically, especially to a mixed audience. In the first public lecturer at the African American Female Intelligence Society, Mrs. Stewart addressed an only-feminine audience. During the lecture, she used the Bible to justify her right to speak publically as a woman. Mrs. Stewart used legal and religious explanations to advocate for equality. The agenda of their meet was published in the Liberator on 28th April 1832 (Streitmatter 16). On 21st September 1832, she delivered her second speech, but this time her audience comprised men and women. The lecture was delivered at the Franklin Hall that was the venue for the New England Anti-Slavery Society gatherings. In her Speech, Mrs. Stewart questioned whether free blacks were different from salves due to the inequality and lack of opportunity issues they experienced. She criticized the perspective of sending liberated blacks to Africa. In 1832, Mrs. Stewart released her second pamphlet entitled Meditations from the Pen of Mrs. Maria W. Stewart (Roberts 2). Garrison published Mrs. Stewart's speeches in his newspaper's Ladies Department that was dedicated to black women.

On 27th February 1833, Mrs. Stewart delivered her third public speech at the African Masonic Hall, addressing African liberty and rights. Moreover, on 21st September 1833, she had her Farewell Address that depict her final Boston speech before migrating to New York (Streitmatter 17). The fourth lecture focused on the adverse reactions that arose from her public speeches. Mrs. Stewart expressed her disappointment that her public lectures had provoked an insignificant effect and frustrated her expectations on her divine call to public speaking. Despite her initial success in her public speeches advocating for abolition and the importance of education for African Americans, she was criticized for her courage to violate the taboo that barred women from addressing men publicly. She migrated to New York and published the first collection, Production of Mrs. Maria W. Stewart, in 1835 (Roberts 3). The publication comprised the initial speeches, some poems, and essays that meant were to inspire women to launch their public speaking initiatives.

In New York, Mrs. Stewart upheld her human rights activist role and attended the Women's Anti-Slavery Convention in 1837 (Streitmatter 18). As a staunch advocate for educational literacy for African Americans, she opted to teach public schools within Brooklyn and Manhattan. A significant fraction of her wages was allocated to white teachers who had the obligation of educating black children. Eventually, Mrs. Stewart's teaching initiatives were acknowledged, and she was granted the role of a deputy principal of Williamsburg School. Mrs. Stewart claimed that her salary should be appropriated for seminaries and educational institutions to empower black children to be educated (Roberts 3). She acknowledged that black youths were struggling to acquire education, but they lacked the means. Besides, Mrs. Stewart was still an active activist in the black women's literary movement. She supported the North Star, Frederick Douglass' newspaper, but Mrs. Stewart did not write any article for it.

In 1852, Mrs. Stewart lost her teaching role in New York and shifted to Baltimore. In Baltimore, she offered private tutoring services. Nonetheless, in 1861, Mrs. Stewart moved to Washington D.C, to teach during the American Civil War period (Roberts 4). She inspired her friend, Elizabeth Keckley, to publish her memoir, Behind the Scenes: Or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House. The publication expressed Keckley's experiences as a seamstress to Mary Todd Lincoln and being a former slave. 1n 1871, while teaching in Washington D.C, Mrs. Stewart was selected to the housekeeping supervisor at Freedman's Hospital and Asylum replacing the sojourner truth, Isabella Baumfree (Streitmatter 19). The hospital facility served as a sanctuary to former slaves who had come to seek asylum in Washington. Mrs. Stewart launched a Sunday school within the neighborhood to ensure that Blacks were enlightened while offering a refuge at the hospital.

Legacy

In 1878, Mrs. Stewart realized that a new policy amendment had made her eligible for veterans' pensions being a widow to James W. Stewart, who had participated in the 1812 War. She relied on the $8 monthly pension reimbursements to republish her Meditations from the Pen of Mrs. Maria W. Stewart (Roberts 4). She added some content on her experiences of the American Civil War and other letters from Garrison and other friends. The pamphlet was published in December 1879 before Mrs. Stewart died on 17the December 1879 while been treated at Freedman's Hospital and Asylum (Streitmatter 20). Her corpse was buried in Washington's Graceland Cemetery.

Mrs. Stewart will be remembered as the first African America woman who raised public awareness on the significance of black women's rights, lectured society on political concerns, and anti-slavery practices (Streitmatter 22). Moreover, Mrs. Stewart became the first woman to address a mixed audience that consisted of Blacks and Whites. Nowadays, she is remembered as a progressive and pioneer public speaker icon who contributed immensely to empowering women and abolishing slavery during the 19th century.

Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou is a celebrated American activist, storyteller, and poet. She was born on 4th April 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri, as Marguerite Johnson, to Vivian Baxter and Bailey Johnson (Dolgusheva 28). Bailey, Jr., her older brother, nicknamed her Maya during their childhood. Her parents divorced when she was three years old, and they were sent to live with their grandmother in the segregated Stamps, Arkansas. Bailey Jr. and Angelou spent most of their formative years moving to and from St. Louis. During World War II, Angelou enrolled in San Francisco's Labour School and George Washington High School (Bloom 17). Despite her tendency to drop out of school due to her professional commitment as the first African American streetcar conductor, she graduated at the age of 17 years. She conceived her only son three weeks after her graduation.

Angelou had an extensive career as a composer, actress, dancer, singer, and Hollywood's first African American director. Nevertheless, she later became a well-known poet, playwright, essayist, editor, and writer. Angelou's civil rights activist's role led to her association with Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr (Dolgusheva 29). Moreover, her enthusiasm to teach granted her the opportunity of being a tutor in American Studies at Wake Forest University. In 1975, Carol E. Neubauer acknowledged Angelou's efforts as an icon to all Americans who were committed to elevating their moral living standards in her book Southern Women Writers: The New Generation (Bloom 17). Angelou was appointed to two presidential committees in the Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter administrations. President Bill Clinton awarded her the National Medal of Arts in 2000 (Dolgusheva 29). Likewise, in 2010, President Barack Obama awarded Angelou the highest American civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom (Dolgusheva 29). Before her demise, she had been awarded more than 50 honorary degrees.

Poet and Activist

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings exemplifies Angelou's most prominent work. It reveals her childhood years at Long Beach, St. Louis, and Stamps, Arkansas, where she lived. In the autobiography, she described her first sexual harassment experience from her mother's boyfriend when she was seven years old (Dolgusheva 30). However, the perpetrator was murdered by her uncles when she revealed the ordeal she had undergone. Angelou felt guilty for his death and opted to be mute for almost five years (Dolgusheva 30). When she stopped talking, she became passionate about language. She read books from various African American authors, such as Paul Lawrence Dunbar, W.E.B Du Bois, and Langston Hughes. When Angelou was almost 13 years old, Mrs. Flowers convinced her to speak again (Bloom 17). She recalled the incident in her book Mrs. Flowers: A Moment of Friendship, emphasizing the significance of the spoken word. In the book, she explained the importance and nature of education that had evoked her passion for poetry.

In the late 1950s, Angelou joined the Harlem Writers Guild and met notable writers, such as James Baldwin. After being affiliated with the writers' guild, she had the opportunity of listening to Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech. His speech inspired her to join the civil rights struggle. She was appointed as the northern coordinator for the King's Southern Christian Leadership Conference. After her association with King's emancipation ini...