Tempestuous Elements

The Legacy of Anna Julia Cooper

“I would beg …for the Colored Girls of the South–that large, bright, promising fatally beautiful class that stand shivering like a delicate plantlet before the fury of tempestuous elements, so full of promise and possibilities, yet so sure of destruction… the hope in germ of a staunch, helpful, regenerating womanhood on which, primarily, rests the foundation stones of our future as a race.”  -Anna Julia Cooper, “A Voice From the South,” 1892

After discovering Anna Julia Cooper a few years ago, I have been dedicated to reading everything I can about her life and absorbing as much as possible from her talks and essays. Anyone who proposes classical education in America without considering her arguments and example is missing a vital piece of the story (See this recent forum on “What is Classical Education?” to which I contributed).