Sue Monk Kidd: Fighting For Equality

Fighting for Equality There are many inequalities in this world that limit people's choices. Gender inequality and racial inequality contributed to people's suffering throughout history. Some people did not have a choice in what they did because someone else dominated them. People became oppressed and forced to do someone's bidding. In the United States, slavery was used in the South during the 1800's. Many Africans were taken from their homes and family to serve the United States' elite. In The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd writes a historical fiction novel that addresses social inequalities. Four historical characters in Kidd's novel are Sarah and Angelina Grimke, Denmark Vesey, and Handful. Each character fights against the social inequalities in his or her own way. These historical figures and the choices made by the main characters show that people should be treated equally and fairly.

Sarah believed that all women should have an opportunity to pursue their own careers and dreams. According to Carol Berkin, “the Grimke sisters were among the first abolitionists to recognize the importance of woman's rights and to speak and write about the cause of female equality.” Sarah fought against gender inequalities by making speeches in front of audiences. She encouraged women to speak their minds. Sarah said, “we began using proportions of our lectures to defend our right to speak. ‘What we claim for ourselves we claim for every woman!’” (Kidd 331). Kidd portrays Sarah as someone who was adamant in defending her right to speak her mind. Through her actions and speeches in Kidd’s novel, Sarah showed that women had the same rights and duties as men and should be able allowed to participate in the abolition