No. 80: Helen Appo Cook
Episode Transcript
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What if I told you that one of the most influential Black women in 19th-century America wasn’t just fighting for racial equality but was also one of the earliest champions of women’s suffrage? Intrigued? Well, meet Helen Appo Cook—a powerhouse of activism whose work laid the groundwork for future generations of civil rights and women’s rights leaders.
Hey everyone, I’m Shae, a PhD candidate at Harvard, and you’re listening to the 100 Historic Black Women You Should Know By Election Day Series.
Helen Appo Cook was born in 1837 to a free Black family in New York City, and she used her privilege and position to fight for those who weren’t as fortunate. As a prominent member of the Black elite, Cook played a pivotal role in several organizations dedicated to social change. She was the president of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), an organization that combined the fight for racial justice with the struggle for women’s rights, long before these movements were widely recognized as interconnected.
Under her leadership, the NACW focused on issues like education, healthcare, and voting rights, advocating for both the advancement of Black people and the empowerment of women. Cook believed deeply in the power of education and was a staunch advocate for the schooling of young Black girls, recognizing that education was the key to unlocking both personal and collective freedom.
But Cook’s activism didn’t stop at the borders of her own community. She worked tirelessly to build alliances with white suffragists and other activists, understanding that the fight for equality required unity across all lines of division. However, she didn’t shy away from confronting the racism within the women’s suffrage movement itself.
A significant moment came when Susan B. Anthony, a leading figure in the suffrage movement, made racist remarks implying that Black men were unworthy of the vote compared to white women. Anthony argued that it was a "degradation" to give Black men the right to vote before white women, suggesting that the latter were more deserving of political rights. In response, Helen Appo Cook did not remain silent. She publicly rebuked Anthony's words in an op-ed published in the Washington Post, condemning the inherent racism in Anthony’s stance. Cook asserted that the fight for suffrage could not be a segregated one—Black men and women deserved the same rights as their white counterparts, and any movement that sought to elevate one group at the expense of another was deeply flawed. Cook’s bold stance highlighted the racial tensions within the suffrage movement and underscored the importance of an intersectional approach to justice—a lesson that continues to resonate today.
In 1896, the Federation of Afro-American Women merged with the National Association of Colored Women (NACW). This merger brought together some of the most influential Black women leaders of the time, including Mary Church Terrell and Ida B. Wells, creating a powerful coalition that fought for both racial justice and women’s rights on a national scale.
Helen Appo Cook’s legacy is a powerful reminder of the importance of intersectionality in activism. She understood that the fight for justice is multi-faceted, and her work continues to inspire those who seek to make the world a better place for all people, regardless of race or gender.
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