conditional it was for women of color to learn and use conventional language in order to be accepted in society. Moreover, in much of her poetry, both her male and female subjects serve as exemplars of educational development and moral strength, and as such support the idea of racial uplift. References 1883 births 1956 deaths American women poets 20th-century American poets 20th-century American women writers African-American poets 20th-century African-American women writers 20th-century African-American writers