It is not the intelligent woman vs. the ignorant woman; nor the white woman vs. the black, the brown, and the red - it is not even the cause of woman vs. man. Nay, it is woman's strongest vindication for speaking that the world needs to hear her voice. It would be subversive of every human interest that the cry of one half of the human family be stifled. Woman ... daring to think and move and speak - to undertake to help shape, mold and direct the thought of her age, is merely completing the circle of the world's vision. Hers is every interest that has lacked an interpreter and a defender. Her cause is linked with that of every agony that has been dumb - every wrong that needs a voice....
The world has had to limp along with the wobbling gait and one-sided hesitancy of a man with one eye. Suddenly the bandage is removed from the other eye and the whole body is filled with light. It sees a circle where before it saw a segment. The darkened eye restored, every member rejoices with it.
Anna Julia Cooper
A Voice from the South (1892)
It's interesting to note the date on this, and how long it took for such an idea to be accepted.
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