Final answer:
Anna Julia Cooper and Ida B. Wells-Barnett emphasized the need to critique societal norms and to develop an alternative moral framework that accounts for everyone's interests, focusing on vulnerable groups, to advance true equality.
Step-by-step explanation:
The two principles that Anna Julia Cooper and Ida B. Wells-Barnett emphasized in applying a moral standard to their analysis of society were the importance of criticizing societal norms and advocating for an alternative moral framework that accounted for the interests of all persons, especially the vulnerable and oppressed. These principles were crucial for these Black feminist activists in their fight against the injustices faced by African Americans, including the brutalities of lynching and the enforcement of Jim Crow segregation. Their work highlighted the need for a moral critique of society to drive political and social change.
Cooper and Wells-Barnett believed in critically analyzing societal norms that shaped the daily existence of Black Americans. Vincent Lloyd noted that without such criticism, the separation between norms and laws was arbitrary and could not lead to genuine equality. Additionally, the feminist scholarship they inspired emphasizes the need to challenge traditional normative moral theories, which often ignore the perspectives of women and oppressed groups, and to consider the concrete situations of individuals when applying norms. This alternative framework aims to highlight inequalities and advocate for moral choices that advance true equality.