A noted member of Washington, D. C.'s African American community, Anna Julia Cooper (1858 - 1964) rose to prominence as a leading scholar, educator, and activist at the end of the nineteenth century. Born into slavery, she was the fourth African American woman to earn a doctoral degree, receiving a PhD in history from the University of Paris-Sorbonne in 1924. This edition includes an informative Introduction to Cooper's life and work by Janet Neary.