Louisa and Abolition

Join us as we explore Louisa May Alcott in the broader context of Concord’s abolitionist movement, including her family’s activism, her interaction with fellow abolitionists, and the importance of Black abolitionist women in shaping the cause that she so passionately devoted herself to.

History 160: Abolitionist Women and Their Worlds is a seminar course made up of Harvard University undergraduates and taught by Professor Tiya Miles and Teaching Fellow Ciara Williams. After reading works by abolitionist women of many different racial and geographic backgrounds, students in the course set out to create a podcast that centers on positioning Louisa May Alcott’s abolitionist work in this broader context. Engaging in thorough primary and secondary source research, students worked together to create a historical narrative of Alcott’s relationship with the abolitionist movement in Concord and beyond while also centering the importance of women such as Maria Stewart, Susan and Ellen Garrison, and other members of the Concord Female Anti-Slavery Society. Through establishing these connections, we hope that this episode will provide an understanding of how Louisa’s activism was distinctly shaped by her historical and geographic contexts.

Professor Tiya Miles
Teaching Fellow, Ciara Williams
Ike Opayemi
Henry Santamaria
Kylan Benson
Sophia Liao
Kawsar Yasin
Tatum Mueller
Jubi Oladipo
Sa’maia Evans
Jade Stanford
Dulce Gonzalez Arias
Debora Ortega-Maldonado
Gabriela Vasquez Rosado
Tosin A.
Yasmeen Khan

This project was made possible by the generous support of the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute, especially Patrice Green, Curator for African American and African Diasporic Collections and Tamar Brown, Head of Education and Outreach. We’d also like to thank the museum staff at Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House and The Robbins House in Concord, MA as well as the museum staff at the Museum of African American History in Boston. Finally, we extend our thanks to the Department of History, the Mindich Program in Engaged Scholarship, and the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning at Harvard University.

For a complete list of sources, visit letgeniusburn.com