MAry Church Terrell
Early Life
Mary Church Terrell was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. In the article Dr. Mary Church Terrell: July 24, 1954, it states the significance of being born in 1863, “Dr. Terrell was born in Memphis, TN, the same year of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation (1863).” That proclimation helped Terrell to get her opinion and beliefs across, so that all people should be equal in the United States of America. Even though she was the daughter of former slaves, her father was the first black millionaire in real estate investments. This helped her get the right education during her childhood. Her parents put themselves out there in the black population while taking advantage of their freedom. Biography.com said, “Her parents, Robert Reed Church and his wife, Louisa Ayers, were both former slaves who used their freedom to become small-business owners and make themselves vital members of Memphis' growing black population.” All of the circumstances that were under Mary Church Terrell's belt, helped her become an accomplished.
At Oberlin College, the college she graduated from, Mary Church Terrell was the first African American women to get a college degree. Four years later, she even went on to get her masters degree in education. Around the times of her college years, Mary Church Terrell met her future husband Robert Terrell, a very talented attorney. He eventually would go and become Washington D.C.'s black municipal judge. They got married in 1891.
Activist's Life
Terrell was not one to look into a crowd. She took charge. On Biography.com it states, "In particular, she focused much on her attention on securing the right to vote. But within the movement she found reluctance to include African-American women, if no outright exclusion of them from the cause." She worked really hard to change that. She speaking out about the problem frequently, she spoke to the National Association of Colored Women in 1896. Immediately after that they named her their first president of the organization. While in this position she used her power to advance in social and educational reforms.
While her job as president at the NACW, many opportunities came her way. Biography.com states, "Pushed by W.E.B. Du Bois, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People made Terrell a charter member. Later, she became the first African-American woman ever appointed to a school board and then served on a committee that investigated alleged police mistreatment of African Americans."
In her later years, she was committed to taking on the Jim Crow law's. Biography.com states, "In 1949 she became the first African American admitted to the Washington chapter of the American Association of University Women. And it was Terrell who helped bring down segregated restaurants in her adopted home of Washington, D.C." In 1950, when she was rejected by whites to get service. This was the start of her court order to rule out all segregated restaurants. She considered them unconstitutional.
At about the end of her life, Mary Church Terrell had seen a lot of civil-rights movements. In 1954 she got to see the Brown v. Board of Education which ended segregation in schools. Sadly just two months later, Mary Church Terrell past away on July 24th in Annapolis, Maryland. To this day her house in Washington D.C. is named a National Historic Landmark.
Mary Church Terrell was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. In the article Dr. Mary Church Terrell: July 24, 1954, it states the significance of being born in 1863, “Dr. Terrell was born in Memphis, TN, the same year of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation (1863).” That proclimation helped Terrell to get her opinion and beliefs across, so that all people should be equal in the United States of America. Even though she was the daughter of former slaves, her father was the first black millionaire in real estate investments. This helped her get the right education during her childhood. Her parents put themselves out there in the black population while taking advantage of their freedom. Biography.com said, “Her parents, Robert Reed Church and his wife, Louisa Ayers, were both former slaves who used their freedom to become small-business owners and make themselves vital members of Memphis' growing black population.” All of the circumstances that were under Mary Church Terrell's belt, helped her become an accomplished.
At Oberlin College, the college she graduated from, Mary Church Terrell was the first African American women to get a college degree. Four years later, she even went on to get her masters degree in education. Around the times of her college years, Mary Church Terrell met her future husband Robert Terrell, a very talented attorney. He eventually would go and become Washington D.C.'s black municipal judge. They got married in 1891.
Activist's Life
Terrell was not one to look into a crowd. She took charge. On Biography.com it states, "In particular, she focused much on her attention on securing the right to vote. But within the movement she found reluctance to include African-American women, if no outright exclusion of them from the cause." She worked really hard to change that. She speaking out about the problem frequently, she spoke to the National Association of Colored Women in 1896. Immediately after that they named her their first president of the organization. While in this position she used her power to advance in social and educational reforms.
While her job as president at the NACW, many opportunities came her way. Biography.com states, "Pushed by W.E.B. Du Bois, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People made Terrell a charter member. Later, she became the first African-American woman ever appointed to a school board and then served on a committee that investigated alleged police mistreatment of African Americans."
In her later years, she was committed to taking on the Jim Crow law's. Biography.com states, "In 1949 she became the first African American admitted to the Washington chapter of the American Association of University Women. And it was Terrell who helped bring down segregated restaurants in her adopted home of Washington, D.C." In 1950, when she was rejected by whites to get service. This was the start of her court order to rule out all segregated restaurants. She considered them unconstitutional.
At about the end of her life, Mary Church Terrell had seen a lot of civil-rights movements. In 1954 she got to see the Brown v. Board of Education which ended segregation in schools. Sadly just two months later, Mary Church Terrell past away on July 24th in Annapolis, Maryland. To this day her house in Washington D.C. is named a National Historic Landmark.