Research
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911) was an author and activist whose groundbreaking legacy has been foundational for Black women writers and organizers alike. Born free in Baltimore, orphaned at an early age, and adopted into her activist uncle’s household, she grew up to become the most popular Black poet and prolific Black novelist of the nineteenth century. As a young woman and as a seasoned activist, Harper broke through barriers in too many arenas to count: as a woman anti-slavery speaker, as a Black woman in higher education, as a writer, as a co-founder of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), and as an organizational leader in the movements for Black and women’s political rights and dignity.
The year 2025 marks the 200th anniversary of Frances Ellen Watkins Harper’s birth. The Center for Black Digital Research/#DigBlk is hosting #Harper200, a slate of exciting scholarly and arts programming and community events to commemorate Harper’s life and legacy. To bring Harper's life and writings to a wider audience we launched the Transcribe Harper Project through Zooniverse. This collection includes poetry and prose writing by and about Frances E.W. Harper, as well as archival records pertaining to her and her family. The centerpiece of the collection is an edited volume of Harper's writings created by Dr. Frances Smith Foster in 1993, titled A Brighter Coming Day. Foster's introduction and annotation of Harper's writings are foundational to Harper Studies, as her research paved the way for generations of scholars to further develop the archive and critical insight into Harper's life and literary achievements. This transcription project will make A Brighter Coming Day and the various archival materials of this collection fully searchable and freely accessible online, for the first time. With A Brighter Coming Day going out of print, it is with great gratitude that we at #DigBlk honor Dr. Foster by making her edited volume accessible to future scholars of Harper Studies. To learn more on Frances Harper, please see our digital exhibit “Frances Ellen Watkins Harper at 200.”