since the election of 2016
many of us women and men alike have been
wondering how we can make a difference
in the midst of so much chaotic change
and political dysfunction sometimes
hearing stories of those who came before
us in the fight for social justice can
inspire and empower us so today I’m
going to tell you the story of two
sisters from the 1800s who were also
living during a very divisive time Sarah
and Angelina Grimke were born into a
slave-owning family a very prominent
family in Charleston South Carolina yet
they went on to become the strongest
voices for the abolition of slavery and
for women’s rights before the Civil War
they were called traitors liars and even
worse for defending those whom society
had deemed less than yet time and again
they stood up for what was right and
they wouldn’t back down in other words
they were what we would today call
badass women they were fierce and
unapologetic they had integrity and
courage they believed that everyone
deserves freedom justice and equality
now inevitably after a talk like this
someone will come up to me and say what
about the men why didn’t you mention the
southern men in the 1800’s who were
fighting for abolition and women’s
rights well I don’t mention them because
they didn’t exist
I hope that everyone here today no
matter your gender can be expired
inspired by Sarah and Angelina’s example
Sarah was born in 1792 in Angelina in
1805 their father was a wealthy slave
owner and judge the family owned dozens
of slaves who worked in the Grimke
family home and in their plantation
outside of Charleston Sarah was the
older of the two sisters and when she
was just four years old she saw a slave
being whipped as the story goes she
immediately walked outside of her house
into the streets of Charleston and down
to the docks she wanted to board a ship
and go somewhere where slavery didn’t
exist even as a young girl sarah’s moral
compass told her that slavery was wrong
later on in her in her life she did go
somewhere where there was no slavery she
was moved to Philadelphia when she was
in her 20s to join the Quaker Church and
to practice her anti-slavery values
inspired by her sister several years
later
Angelina followed her after the sisters
moved to Philadelphia they began
publishing articles in the in an
anti-slavery newspaper and speaking at
anti-slavery gatherings from for women
soon the men and the abolitionist
movement insisted upon attending the
lectures as well but that gave the
sisters a bad reputation in the print in
print and among the public for for the
being forgiving talks in front of men
which was scandalous at the time their
church even sanctioned them for defying
the traditional role of women so sarah
and angelina began publishing articles
and giving speeches on the rights of
women whom they now saw as enslaved by
the patriarchal laws and culture of the
United States now what’s remarkable
about sarah and angelina is that they
didn’t convince themselves to ignore
injustice even when it was the status
quo even when everyone
them said that slavery and racism were
normal and the next point I bring up
because I think all of us do this
instead of questioning their own values
and judgment in the face of injustice
they instead questioned the values of an
unjust society and they decided to
change it they would spend the rest of
their lives fighting to end slavery and
promoting equal rights for women now my
story isn’t as dramatic as Sarah and
Angelina’s but I was born to fight for
women’s rights I grew up in a small town
in Montana in a conservative family in
church and I think that’s why Sarah and
Angelina’s story appeals to me so much I
shouldn’t have turned out a feminist but
somehow I did even as a young girl I
experienced and I witnessed sexism in my
church in my community in my school and
I didn’t have the language to name it
but I could feel it and it bothered me
today I do have the language to call out
sexism misogyny and patriarchal BS and I
can see how it intersects with other
types of injustice such as racism anti
LGBTQ prejudice and poverty when I stand
up for women’s rights I’m fighting these
other and justices as well after the
election of 2016 I attended the women’s
March in Austin Texas and when I came
back to my community I became very
active in organizing women’s issues
right here I started contacting my
politicians I wrote letters to the
editor and I even published opinion
articles this past summer I really
stepped outside of my box and I attended
an immigration rally at the federal
courthouse in in Brownsville Texas I
went to the border to bear witness to
the injustice of family separation and
deportation that was taking place here
in the United
it states here in Texas as I was
standing in front of the federal
courthouse in Brownsville
I thought of Sara and Angelina and their
fight for freedom justice and equality
for everyone and I wondered if I was
doing enough to be a badass woman in the
spirit of Sara and Angelina because even
though they live to see the end of
slavery we still live with the racism
and Prejudice that upheld it they didn’t
live to see women’s suffrage but they
did inspire later suffragists such as
Elizabeth Cady Stanton but even today
when badass women stand up to the
patriarchal status quo women like dr.
Christine blaze afford these women like
Sara and Angelina are still called
traitors liars and even worse now you
would think that we would have advanced
from the early 1800s when Sara and
Angelina were first fighting for women’s
rights and in many ways we have but
badass women today we still look around
and we see all types of injustice and
inequality in our democracy Sara and
Angelina knew that the women of their
day struggled with this so with this as
well how to use your voice how to stand
up how to worry about being criticized
so in 1838 Angelina
developed a practical strategy for
activism she wrote a pamphlet and she
gave women four steps that they could
take to bring about an end to slavery
these were practical things that women
could do in their everyday lives things
that they could do in their homes and in
their communities she told women that
they could end slavery if they would
read pray speak and act her advice still
stands today when many of us feel unsure
and don’t know how to use our voices
first
read educate yourself on the issue you
can’t change the current if you don’t
know the history nuances and various
perspectives on the problem now I took
this to the extreme I went to graduate
school and got a PhD in women’s
literature and feminist theory but now I
know the issues inside and out and I can
stand my ground and even more
importantly I can make informed
decisions and there are still women’s
and social justice issues that I still
don’t know about so this reading will
never end
then pray I feel weird telling people to
pray but keep in mind that Sarah and
Angelina were badass women but they were
also very very devout Christians and so
were the people who were listening to
them but today we can have an expansive
view of religion and of Prayer and we
know that prayer can take many forms we
can meditate we can reflect we can
ponder Journal laugh cry sing
however we express it connects your
hopes and fears to the issue to the
bigger picture when I pray I pray for
the strength to see the good in the
world and in people in spite of its and
justices I’ve been praying a lot this
week this meditation in this reflection
sustained me and they ensure that my
values come from a place of integrity
and authenticity then speak speak out by
fostering dialog within your community
and among your friends and your family
be the voice of knowledge and
inspiration in your sphere of influence
now I know that here in the South
sometimes we are afraid to speak out and
express our opinions on the issues that
matter because we don’t want to
disrespect or offend people but let me
tell you it is not disrespectful to have
an opinion that is different from the
status quo it is not offensive to have
an opinion that differs from your friend
or from your family I should know after
a lifetime of speaking out I can tell
you that yeah sometimes people don’t
like it and they don’t like me but the
people who do matter to me respects me
finally act this action can take many
forms
voting volunteering protesting
organizing writing giving speeches
showing up I’ve had the opportunity to
do any number of these things over the
past few months but it’s only because I
have the basis of reading praying and
speaking of integrating all of these
steps that I could take action with
courage and with confidence now what
strikes me about Sarah and Angelina’s
advice is that it meets each of us where
we are at these are things that are part
of our everyday lives things that we can
do in our homes and in our communities
each person gets to decide which step is
right for them right now
so if you are wondering how you can be
effective and empowered in the face of
social injustice and political injustice
consider this earlier example of Sarah
and Angelina Grimke badass women from
the 1800s
now I want everyone here today women men
no matter your gender just think about
the social justice issue that is so
important to you
it could be immigration racial prejudice
a woman’s right to choose trans rights
voter suppression gun control
environmental justice whatever it is
think of Angelina’s four steps read pray
speak and act
we are all at different places in our
journey to becoming badass women and
activists where are you what is the next
step
commit right now to taking that next
step because if all of us would read
pray speak and act together we can
change the current thank you [Applause]
many of us women and men alike have been
wondering how we can make a difference
in the midst of so much chaotic change
and political dysfunction sometimes
hearing stories of those who came before
us in the fight for social justice can
inspire and empower us so today I’m
going to tell you the story of two
sisters from the 1800s who were also
living during a very divisive time Sarah
and Angelina Grimke were born into a
slave-owning family a very prominent
family in Charleston South Carolina yet
they went on to become the strongest
voices for the abolition of slavery and
for women’s rights before the Civil War
they were called traitors liars and even
worse for defending those whom society
had deemed less than yet time and again
they stood up for what was right and
they wouldn’t back down in other words
they were what we would today call
badass women they were fierce and
unapologetic they had integrity and
courage they believed that everyone
deserves freedom justice and equality
now inevitably after a talk like this
someone will come up to me and say what
about the men why didn’t you mention the
southern men in the 1800’s who were
fighting for abolition and women’s
rights well I don’t mention them because
they didn’t exist
I hope that everyone here today no
matter your gender can be expired
inspired by Sarah and Angelina’s example
Sarah was born in 1792 in Angelina in
1805 their father was a wealthy slave
owner and judge the family owned dozens
of slaves who worked in the Grimke
family home and in their plantation
outside of Charleston Sarah was the
older of the two sisters and when she
was just four years old she saw a slave
being whipped as the story goes she
immediately walked outside of her house
into the streets of Charleston and down
to the docks she wanted to board a ship
and go somewhere where slavery didn’t
exist even as a young girl sarah’s moral
compass told her that slavery was wrong
later on in her in her life she did go
somewhere where there was no slavery she
was moved to Philadelphia when she was
in her 20s to join the Quaker Church and
to practice her anti-slavery values
inspired by her sister several years
later
Angelina followed her after the sisters
moved to Philadelphia they began
publishing articles in the in an
anti-slavery newspaper and speaking at
anti-slavery gatherings from for women
soon the men and the abolitionist
movement insisted upon attending the
lectures as well but that gave the
sisters a bad reputation in the print in
print and among the public for for the
being forgiving talks in front of men
which was scandalous at the time their
church even sanctioned them for defying
the traditional role of women so sarah
and angelina began publishing articles
and giving speeches on the rights of
women whom they now saw as enslaved by
the patriarchal laws and culture of the
United States now what’s remarkable
about sarah and angelina is that they
didn’t convince themselves to ignore
injustice even when it was the status
quo even when everyone
them said that slavery and racism were
normal and the next point I bring up
because I think all of us do this
instead of questioning their own values
and judgment in the face of injustice
they instead questioned the values of an
unjust society and they decided to
change it they would spend the rest of
their lives fighting to end slavery and
promoting equal rights for women now my
story isn’t as dramatic as Sarah and
Angelina’s but I was born to fight for
women’s rights I grew up in a small town
in Montana in a conservative family in
church and I think that’s why Sarah and
Angelina’s story appeals to me so much I
shouldn’t have turned out a feminist but
somehow I did even as a young girl I
experienced and I witnessed sexism in my
church in my community in my school and
I didn’t have the language to name it
but I could feel it and it bothered me
today I do have the language to call out
sexism misogyny and patriarchal BS and I
can see how it intersects with other
types of injustice such as racism anti
LGBTQ prejudice and poverty when I stand
up for women’s rights I’m fighting these
other and justices as well after the
election of 2016 I attended the women’s
March in Austin Texas and when I came
back to my community I became very
active in organizing women’s issues
right here I started contacting my
politicians I wrote letters to the
editor and I even published opinion
articles this past summer I really
stepped outside of my box and I attended
an immigration rally at the federal
courthouse in in Brownsville Texas I
went to the border to bear witness to
the injustice of family separation and
deportation that was taking place here
in the United
it states here in Texas as I was
standing in front of the federal
courthouse in Brownsville
I thought of Sara and Angelina and their
fight for freedom justice and equality
for everyone and I wondered if I was
doing enough to be a badass woman in the
spirit of Sara and Angelina because even
though they live to see the end of
slavery we still live with the racism
and Prejudice that upheld it they didn’t
live to see women’s suffrage but they
did inspire later suffragists such as
Elizabeth Cady Stanton but even today
when badass women stand up to the
patriarchal status quo women like dr.
Christine blaze afford these women like
Sara and Angelina are still called
traitors liars and even worse now you
would think that we would have advanced
from the early 1800s when Sara and
Angelina were first fighting for women’s
rights and in many ways we have but
badass women today we still look around
and we see all types of injustice and
inequality in our democracy Sara and
Angelina knew that the women of their
day struggled with this so with this as
well how to use your voice how to stand
up how to worry about being criticized
so in 1838 Angelina
developed a practical strategy for
activism she wrote a pamphlet and she
gave women four steps that they could
take to bring about an end to slavery
these were practical things that women
could do in their everyday lives things
that they could do in their homes and in
their communities she told women that
they could end slavery if they would
read pray speak and act her advice still
stands today when many of us feel unsure
and don’t know how to use our voices
first
read educate yourself on the issue you
can’t change the current if you don’t
know the history nuances and various
perspectives on the problem now I took
this to the extreme I went to graduate
school and got a PhD in women’s
literature and feminist theory but now I
know the issues inside and out and I can
stand my ground and even more
importantly I can make informed
decisions and there are still women’s
and social justice issues that I still
don’t know about so this reading will
never end
then pray I feel weird telling people to
pray but keep in mind that Sarah and
Angelina were badass women but they were
also very very devout Christians and so
were the people who were listening to
them but today we can have an expansive
view of religion and of Prayer and we
know that prayer can take many forms we
can meditate we can reflect we can
ponder Journal laugh cry sing
however we express it connects your
hopes and fears to the issue to the
bigger picture when I pray I pray for
the strength to see the good in the
world and in people in spite of its and
justices I’ve been praying a lot this
week this meditation in this reflection
sustained me and they ensure that my
values come from a place of integrity
and authenticity then speak speak out by
fostering dialog within your community
and among your friends and your family
be the voice of knowledge and
inspiration in your sphere of influence
now I know that here in the South
sometimes we are afraid to speak out and
express our opinions on the issues that
matter because we don’t want to
disrespect or offend people but let me
tell you it is not disrespectful to have
an opinion that is different from the
status quo it is not offensive to have
an opinion that differs from your friend
or from your family I should know after
a lifetime of speaking out I can tell
you that yeah sometimes people don’t
like it and they don’t like me but the
people who do matter to me respects me
finally act this action can take many
forms
voting volunteering protesting
organizing writing giving speeches
showing up I’ve had the opportunity to
do any number of these things over the
past few months but it’s only because I
have the basis of reading praying and
speaking of integrating all of these
steps that I could take action with
courage and with confidence now what
strikes me about Sarah and Angelina’s
advice is that it meets each of us where
we are at these are things that are part
of our everyday lives things that we can
do in our homes and in our communities
each person gets to decide which step is
right for them right now
so if you are wondering how you can be
effective and empowered in the face of
social injustice and political injustice
consider this earlier example of Sarah
and Angelina Grimke badass women from
the 1800s
now I want everyone here today women men
no matter your gender just think about
the social justice issue that is so
important to you
it could be immigration racial prejudice
a woman’s right to choose trans rights
voter suppression gun control
environmental justice whatever it is
think of Angelina’s four steps read pray
speak and act
we are all at different places in our
journey to becoming badass women and
activists where are you what is the next
step
commit right now to taking that next
step because if all of us would read
pray speak and act together we can
change the current thank you [Applause]
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