Rebecca Cox Jackson
Rebecca Cox Jackson, born on February 15, 1795, in Horntown, Pennsylvania, was a free African American woman who became a religious visionary and community leader. Before her spiritual awakening in 1830, she worked as a seamstress and cared for her brother’s children. In 1859, Jackson established a unique urban Shaker community in Philadelphia, composed predominantly of Black women. She co-led this community with her lifelong companion, Rebecca Perot, and it lasted until 1908. Jackson died of a stroke on May 24, 1871. Her autobiography, Gifts of Power, was published posthumously in 1987.
- Gifts of Power: the writings of Rebecca Jackson, Black visionary, Shaker eldress. Edited by Jean McMahon Humez, Schocken Books, 1981.
Humez, Jean McMahon. "Jackson, Rebecca Cox." Oxford African American Studies Center, 31 May 2013, Oxford UP, https://oxfordaasc.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195301731.001.0001/acref-9780195301731-e-34479. Accessed 16 May 2025.
Jackson, Rebecca Cox. Gifts of Power: The Writings of Rebecca Jackson, Black Visionary, Shaker Eldress. Edited by Jean McMahon Humez, Schocken Books, 1981. Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/giftsofpower00jean. Accessed 16 May 2025.
“Mother Rebecca Cox Jackson: Spiritual Leader.” Shaker Heritage Society, https://home.shakerheritage.org/mother_rebecca. Accessed 16 May 2025.
“Rebecca Cox Jackson.” Africans in America, PBS, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3h255.html. Accessed 16 May 2025.