The Rollin Sisters | Sisterhood: SC Suffragists - Episode 1

Frances Rollin was propelled into the national spotlight with the Pilot Boy steamship incident, in Charleston, South Carolina, where the captain refused her service due to the color of her skin. Frances Ann “Frank” Rollin was the oldest of five daughters, born into an elite, aristocratic, free Black family.

Carole Ione Lewis, the great-granddaughter of Frances Rollin Whipper, has written extensively about the history of the Rollin family, whose origins trace back to the island of Santo Domingo. Frances’ father, William Rollin, was a wealthy business owner in the lumber industry. William Rollin taught his daughters lessons on how to matriculate and have influence in a system of which they cannot be a part. The Rollin sisters tirelessly advocated for activism and civil rights following the Civil War.

In 1859, Frances Rollin travels to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she furthers her education at the Quaker Institute of Colored Youth. The other Rollin sisters also further their studies in higher education.

Standards

• 4.4.CC Identify and evaluate the economic, political, and social changes experienced throughout the Civil War.
• 4.4.P Explain how emancipation was achieved as a result of civic participation.
• 4.5.CC Identify and evaluate the impact of economic, political, and social events on the African American experience throughout Reconstruction.
• 4.5.E Analyze multiple perspectives of the economic, political, and social effects of Reconstruction on different populations in the South and in other regions of the U.S.
• 5.2.CX Contextualize the post-war economic climate on the cultural landscape throughout the United States and South Carolina.
• 8.3.CC Analyze debates and efforts to recognize the natural rights of marginalized groups during the period of expansion and sectionalism.
• 8.4.CO Compare perspectives toward reform that engaged during the Progressive Era.
• This indicator was designed to encourage inquiry into how new state and federal Progressive legislation affected individuals and businesses in South Carolina and the US. The indicator was designed to promote inquiry into the new perspectives that emerged regarding social and political change.
• USHC.3.CE Assess the causes and effects of significant turning points in the Populist and Progressive era from 1877–1924.

Resources