Anna J. Cooper – A Voice from the South In her book, A Voice from the South, Anna J. Cooper expressly addresses two issues: the participation of women in American society and America’s race problem. These are two issues very close to Cooper as an African American woman herself and she claims to speak for all African American women on these points. She argues that for America to be a truly democratic country that has freedoms for all people, it must have participation by women and blacks. The first half of her book is concerned with the role of women in society. She compares a healthy family structure to a democratic society. In both cases, men and women have di