Countless unnamed women, and a few whose names we know, have played significant roles in changing U.S. society. Throughout our history, women of faith have believed that the message of Jesus compelled them to speak out against injustice in society, even while they were fulfilling traditional roles in their homes, churches and communities. Sometimes their voices were only whispers, but at other times their convictions echoed throughout the land. They believed that faithfulness to God could not only change the lives of individuals, but could also reform society. They committed themselves to work for justice, to seek mercy, and to walk humbly with God.
             Women developed organizations to promote particular causes. They were the leaders of these groups, raised money to support the causes, and spoke in private and public gatherings, calling for laws and customs to be changed to make like better for women, children and families. Some of the earliest activity was on behalf of abolition, in which white women and both enslaved and free African-American women joined forces to call for an end to slavery. The causes of freedom for slaves and freedom for women were often linked, as in abolitionist Sojourner Truth’s famous “Ain’t I A Woman?” speech.
             Suffrage, the struggle for voting rights for women, brought women to the streets and into the political realm. As they marched, they sang; they sang as they were arrested, and they sang in the jails.