Description
“Education and justice are democracy’s only life insurance.”
— Nannie Helen Burroughs
This oversized postcard is a reproduction (offset printed, NOT letterpress) of “Knowledge Trust,” part of the ongoing Dead Feminists poster series. This piece is a collaboration between Chandler O’Leary of Anagram Press and Jessica Spring of Springtide Press, created in honor of the Black women who work to protect the pillars of democracy and freedom.
The large letterpress poster won’t be reprinted—but this postcard faithfully reproduces the hand-lettered typography and hand-drawn illustrations of the original.
Knowledge Trust is filled with allusions to education, powerful pen strokes, turn-of-the-20th-century typography, suffrage colors, and democratic symbols. Burroughs was one of many Black suffragists working in the late 19th century, often overshadowed in suffrage history by white women. She contributed to the movement through the circles of education and religion. With a devout belief in both her Baptist faith and the power of women’s collectives, Burroughs created the National Training School for Women and Girls in 1909. Funded with grassroots donations, the school focused on vocational skills for future working Black women, and a dedication to teaching the true history of Black America.
Postcard size: 5 x 8 inches
PLEASE NOTE: these oversized postcards require extra postage for mailing. They mail at the regular letter rate within the U.S., NOT the postcard rate.
PAPER FINISH: this postcard is made from paper with a smooth, eggshell finish. If you write on it, we recommend using either a ballpoint pen or some form of permanent, smear-proof ink.
You can find all available postcard designs in the postcards section of the shop.
Colophon reads:
Nannie Helen Burroughs (c. 1879 – 1961) was born in Orange, Virginia and moved with her mother to Washington, DC after her father’s death. As a student at M Street High School, she met activists Mary Church Terrell and Anna J. Cooper. After graduating with honors, she moved to Kentucky to work for the Foreign Mission Board of the National Baptist Convention (NBC). At NBC’s annual meeting in 1900, Burroughs’ speech “How the Sisters Are Hindered from Helping” gained national attention and inspired her to co-found the NBC auxiliary Woman’s Convention (WC), the largest Black women’s organization in the United States. Here Black women could exercise their labor and organizing power independent of male membership and white women suffragists. Burroughs served the WC for over 40 years, first as corresponding secretary, then as president.
In 1907, funded by donations from women and children, Burroughs opened the National Training School for Women and Girls in Washington, DC, adopting the motto “We specialize in the wholly impossible.” To develop “the fiber of a sturdy moral, industrious and intellectual woman,” students learned vocational skills to become selfsufficient wage earners. Burroughs’ African-American history class was a graduation requirement. She served as school president until her death. The former Trades Hall, now a National Historic Landmark, today houses the Progressive National Baptist Convention. Illustrated by Chandler O’Leary and printed by Jessica Spring, in gratitude to the Black women who have insured our democracy’s future beneficiaries.
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This original artwork is copyright Chandler O’Leary and Jessica Spring 2022. Copyright is not transferable with the sale of this piece. The buyer is not entitled to reproduction rights.
WA state residents are subject to sales tax.
This postcard will ship flat in a protective mailer, via the United States Postal Service.
