Can someone please write this woman's biography? And make a film about her?

Mary Ann Shadd Cary's bold, brave life should be much better known

As we segue from Black History Month to Women’s History Month, this Literary Ladies Lite Sunday edition takes a brief look at a woman whose life should be better known and celebrated.

Most of us have heard of Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth; many of us (I hope) of Ida B. Wells. But Mary Ann Shadd Cary? My guess is not as many. I was blown away when I discovered her as part of my personal research into the history of women’s roles in American journalism (to build out the section on women journalists for the Literary Ladies website).

Launching The Provincial Freeman, an abolitionist newspaper, in Windsor, Ontario, gave Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823–1893) the distinction of being the first woman publisher of any race or background in Canada, and the first Black woman publisher in all of North America.

In her role as founder, editor, and investigative journalist for The Provincial Freeman, Mary Ann advocated for the Black community in the U.S. and Canada. She worked tirelessly to break down the dual barriers of race and gender.

Later an active participant in the women's suffrage movement in the U.S., she also lectured widely on education and self-reliance. As a capstone to her life’s missions, she became an attorney, just the second American Black woman to do so.

Wouldn’t it be great for someone to do a Ken Burns-style documentary about her?