Maria Stewart Becomes First American-Born Woman to Lecture Publicly

Maria W. Stewart, a free Black woman in Boston, delivered a lecture at Franklin Hall — the first American-born woman of any race to speak to a mixed-gender public audience. Her 1832-33 speeches at the African-American Female Intelligence Society and Masonic Hall demanded Black education and women's equality: 'How long shall the fair daughters of Africa be compelled to bury their minds and talents beneath a load of iron pots and kettles?'