282 Reconstructing, Reimagining: 1865–1900Freeman did, at how women could get the attention of society, and men in particular;
how they could acquire a voice that mattered and get themselves heard. Such
tendencies are quite naturally to be found with especial force in the work of those
who came from, and saw themselves as representing, the most powerless, under-
privileged community of women, African-Americans: among them Julia A. J. Foote
(1827–1900) and Pauline Elizabeth Hopkins (1859–1930). Foote, the daughter of
former slaves, was born in New York State and, while still only 10, began work as a
domestic servant for whites. At the age of 15 she converted to an African Episcopal
church in New York and began to devote herself to evangelical work. What she
preached, above all, was the doctrine of sanctification: the belief that a Christian
could be completely liberated from sin and empowered to lead a life of spiritual
perfection. And her conviction that she herself had been sanctified made her sure
that her destiny was to be a preacher: something that brought her into conflict with
church leaders, and the general customs and prejudices of the day.
This, and other notable events in Foote’s life, are recounted in her autobiography,
A Brand Plucked from the Fire (1879). To an extent, the book goes back to a tradition
of spiritual autobiography that finds its American roots in the earliest writings of
the Puritans. But it also reflects a growing commitment to the idea of spiritual
androgyny, to be found in similar texts by black and white women of the time. Foote
details her problems, when the minister of her church in Boston denied her access to
the pulpit and threatened to throw her out of his congregation. She also describes
how she took her case to higher church authorities; how, when she received no help
from them, she embarked on a professional preaching career; how she was involved
in the holiness revivals that swept across the Midwest in the 1870s; and how she
became the first woman ordained a deacon and the second woman to become an
elder in her church, As she does so, she insists on her spiritual equality with men,
and the spiritual equality of women in general. Women have “suffered persecution
and death in the name of the Lord Jesus,” she points out; “The conduct of holy
women is recorded in scripture,” and “in the early ages of Christianity many women
were happy and glorious in martyrdom.” Citing the Bible, to the effect that “there is
neither male nor female in Christ Jesus,” Foote makes an eloquent case for spiritual
parity that is, in her humble opinion, further proven by her witness and testimony.
Her conversion, her experience of the Holy Spirit, and her successful pursuit of the
vocation of preacher are all, she infers, evidence that she, and indeed all women,
stand equal in the sight of the Lord. And, she clearly indicates, that should make
them equal in the sight of society and its institutions as well.
Unlike Foote, Pauline E. Hopkins worked in many forms and genres, and was the
most productive African-American woman writer of her generation. Born in Maine
and raised in Boston, where she was encouraged to develop her considerable literary
talents, she won a prize for an essay on The Evils of Intemperance and Their Remedy
(the prize was presented by the earlier African-American writer, William Wells
Brown) at the age of 15. At the age of 20, she composed and produced a musical
drama dealing with the underground railroad. And some years later, in 1900, she
became involved as literary editor and major contributor with the Colored AmericanGGray_c03.indd 282ray_c 03 .indd 282 8 8/1/2011 7:54:23 AM/ 1 / 2011 7 : 54 : 23 AM