Mary+Eliza+Church+Terrell



Mary Eliza Church Terrell was born to well-to-do parents in Memphis, Tennessee in 1863. She graduated from Oberlin College in 1884 with a major in classical languages. She was the only woman in a class of forty men. After graduation, she took a teaching position at Wilberforce University.

Years later, after completing a master's degree at Oberlin, she was offered the highest position ever accorded a Black woman at a leading college. However, she turned it down to wed [|Robert Terrell] in 1891. Robert Terrell became the first Black municipal judge of Washington, D.C. The couple had two daughters. The eldest was named in honor of [|Phillis Wheatley], the first Black poetess.

Mary Church Terrell lived a full life of honorary achievements. She helped organize the Colored Women's League of Washington, D.C. in 1892. [|The National Association of Colored Women] elected her as president for two terms. She was appointed to the Board of Education in Washington, D.C. in 1895. Terrell was the first Black woman to hold this position. She served until 1911. In 1913, she helped to build the [|Delta Sigma Theta sorority] and wrote its famous creed.

Mary Church Terrell was a public figure who spoke out against discrimination and segregation. In 1904, she took her fight against segregation national. Terrell addressed the International Council of Women in Berlin, Germany. She spoke fluently in three languages: English, French, and German. She spoke about equal rights for women and the Black race.

Mary Church Terrell died in 1954. She was 91-years-old. Her death occurred just a few months after hearing the United States Supreme Court declare that segregation itself was unconstitutional.






 * __Works Cited__**

Lafontant, Jewel. __A Salute to Historic Black Women__. Chicago: Empak Publishing Company, 1984.