Charlotte M. Rollin (c. 1847–1928) was an American political and civil rights activist, suffragist, and feminist. Rollin, along with her sisters, became well known for her political activism in

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

and nationally during the period of

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

. Lottie Rollin was chair of the South Carolina American Woman Suffrage Association and the Rollin Sisters were said to be 'among the most influential lobbyists and power brokers in South Carolina during Reconstruction'.

Early life and education

Charlotte Rollin was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, one of five daughters born to Margarette and William Rollin, a prosperous

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

lumber dealer and free African-American. All of them received a good education, and Rollin and her sisters,

Frances Frances is an English given name or last name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'the French.' The male version of the name in English is Francis (given name), Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "F ...

, Katherine and Louisa, would all become influential suffragists at both the state and national levels. William Rollin hired tutors for his daughters, as well as sending them to South Caroline private schools. To continue her education Rollin, like her sisters, went north. She briefly attended Dr. Dio Lewis's Family School for Young Ladies in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and around 1860 went to

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where she studied at the

Institute for Colored Youth The Institute for Colored Youth was founded in 1837 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It became the first college for African-Americans in the United States, although there were schools that admitted African Americans preceding it. ...

. Rollin was reportedly fond of poetry, particularly

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...

Elizabeth Barrett Browning Elizabeth Barrett Browning (née Moulton-Barrett; 6 March 1806 – 29 June 1861) was an English poet of the Victorian era, popular in Britain and the United States during her lifetime and frequently anthologised after her death. Her work receiv ...

, and

John Greenleaf Whittier John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...

, who she called 'the poet of human liberty and the rights of mankind.' Although previously wealthy and locally prominent, the Civil War had a major impact on the wealth and property of William Rollin. In around 1867, the sisters moved to Columbia, South Carolina, where they became influential figures within Reconstruction politics in the state.

Work for women's suffrage

Rollin was a member of the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA), along with her sisters Louisa and Frances, and other prominent suffragists including Frances Harper, Charlotte Forten Grimké, Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, and

Sojourner Truth Sojourner Truth (; born Isabella Bomefree; November 26, 1883) was an American Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist and activist for African-American civil rights, women's rights, and Temperance movement, alcohol temperance. Truth was ...

. In 1870, Rollin was the elected Secretary of the AWSA affiliated South Carolina Woman's Rights Association, and subsequently led a meeting at the state capital of Columbia advocating for women's suffrage. She declared:

We ask suffrage not as a favor, nor as a privilege, but as a right based on the ground that we are human beings, and as such entitled to all human rights... until woman has the right of representation... other rights will be held by insecure tenure.

Her speech has been claimed as the first published argument for African-American women's suffrage. Rollin was also the first South Carolina delegate to a national woman suffrage convention.

Later life

As early as 1871, Rollin expressed her intention to move to

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, in fear of the activities of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

. By late 1880, Rollin and her sister Louisa were running a boarding house in Brooklyn. She is presumed to have deceased in Brooklyn.

Early life and education

Work for women's suffrage

Later life

References

See also