Academic Historian

Shirley J. Yee is Associate Professor of Women Studies at the University of Washington. Yee earned her Ph.D. at Ohio State University in 1987 and is the author of Black Women Abolitionists: A Study in Activism, 1828-1860 (University of Tennessee Press, 1992) and “Black Women as Community Builders,” Canadian Historical Review.

Female Anti-Slavery Society, Salem, Massachusetts (1832-1866)

In February 1832, a group of “females of color” in Salem, Massachusetts organized the first women’s antislavery society in the United States.  Like most free black antislavery societies, the Salem organization addressed a variety of issues important to free blacks in addition to the campaign … Read MoreFemale Anti-Slavery Society, Salem, Massachusetts (1832-1866)

Harriet Hayden (ca. 1820-1893)

Harriet Bell Hayden and her husband Lewis Hayden (c.1811-1889) escaped slavery in Kentucky in 1844, traveling first to Ohio, then Michigan and finally settling in Massachusetts, where they became active abolitionists in Boston.  In addition to caring for their two children, Joseph and Elizabeth, Harriet … Read MoreHarriet Hayden (ca. 1820-1893)