Too often, I learn about the life of some remarkable woman by accident. As her story unfolds, I wonder why I am hearing it now, at this age? Why didn't I hear the story when I was younger? I could have used the inspiration.
However, it is better late than never in the case of Lydia Maria Child.
Recently, a press packet arrived in the mail. It held a review copy of "Over the River ... Life of Lydia Marie Child," a book by Constance L. Jackson. Perusing the packet, I recognized Child's poem about Thanksgiving day and knew it had been set to music. My grandmother used to sing it to me.
"Over the river, and through the wood
To grandfather's house we go
the horse knows the way to carry the sleigh
through the white and drifted snow."
As it turns out, there is a lot more to Child than a happy holiday song. The book, a companion version of a DVD, written, directed and produced by Jackson, presents Child as an advocate for social change, a woman dedicated to abolishing slavery.
"Today, her acts are seen as being noble, but during her time, they were considered radical," Jackson writes.
Born in 1802, mostly self-educated — sons were sent to school; daughters didn't need an education — Child wrote popular novels, children's literature and domestic advice books. She was determined to prove men were wrong in believing women were incapable of deep thought.
Her first novel, "Hobomok," published in 1824, was described as a "plea for racial and religious tolerance." It told about Native Americans and white settlers in the colonies and, at that time, was unique in promoting assimilation instead of extermination.
Child's advocacy for Native Americans naturally extended into a crusade against slavery. Encouraged by radical abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, Child researched the antislavery cause, and in 1833 published "Appeal in Favor of That Class of Americans Called Africans."
Biographer Carolyn L. Karcher defines that book as the "movement's earliest full-scale analysis of the slavery question, an analysis never surpassed in comprehensiveness." Child challenged the "the myth of African inferiority, condemned racial prejudice as incompatible with American values, and called for abolishing all forms of racial discrimination ..."
Wouldn't you know it? Challenging racism cost Child her literary career. Her books were burned, her manuscripts were rejected, subscriptions to her children's magazines were dropped. But Child wasn't finished yet.
Considering the restraints put on her own freedom, in 1835 she published a two-volume "History of the Condition of Women." This was followed by articles challenging double standards and false claims that freedom for women destroyed their delicacy.
When my Grandmother sang that happy Thanksgiving song ... little did I know.
Jackson's book is packed with quotes from Child, biographers and historians. There are 35 illustrations, a list of Child's books and literary works, as well as a list of books for further information about the abolitionist. The companion DVD, produced by Permanent Productions Inc., is narrated by Diahann Carroll.
Child died peacefully in her home on Oct. 20, 1880. Think of the paths she paved, the legacy she left behind. I close with her words.
"I long for the time to come when men will realize that all races are children of the same Father and that all, according to the degrees of light they have, are feeling after God, if happily they may find Him."
The DVD, "Over The River...Life of Lydia Maria Child, Abolitionist for Freedom" and companion book of the same title are distributed by Ingram, Amazon and PermProductions.com. For more information visit OverTheRiverMovie.com.
