Mary Church Terrell
Informational Article
The person I will be observing during this project is Mary Church Terrell. She was a charter member of the NAACP and an early advocate for civil rights and the suffrage movement. Born on September 23, 1863, in Memphis, Tennessee, Mary was the daughter of small-business owners who were former slaves. Terrell was a suffragist and the first president of the National Association of Colored Women. Terrell and her brother were raised and taught to be hardworking and ambitious. In 1884, she became one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree from Oberlin College in Ohio. She earned her master’s degree in education four years later, which was very rare during this time period. In 1891, Mary married Robert Heberton Terrell who would eventually become Washington D.C’s first black municipal judge.
With Terrell having a new life in D.C., she was very involved in different movements, but the women’s rights movement in particular caught the majority of her attention. Her main focus, though, was the right to vote. Although the goal was to have equal rights and opportunities for all women, African-American women were often excluded from different plans that were executed. So, this lead to the creation of, with the help of fellow activist, The National Association of Colored Women in 1896. She was instantly named the organization's first president, and used this position to advance educational reform. Years later, she became a charter member of the NAACP, and combined her women’s right activism with her civil rights activism. Mary died on July 24, 1954.
Timeline
Reflection
In conclusion, Mary Church Terrell has made a huge impact in the world and specifically the women’s right movement. She was the first president of the National Association of Colored Women, which was a movement that fought for women’s rights. During the time period of women fighting for their rights, blacks were often excluded because it was still during a time of segregation and oppression against blacks. The fact that black women were excluded from the different organizations, this led to the creation of the National Association of Colored Women.
The main reason I decided to research Mary Church Terrell was because I learned that she was one of the first African-American women to earn a bachelor’s degree in education. I am very big on education, especially within the black community because of how oppressed we were during the segregated times. So, to be able to research a black woman who achieved something that I feel is amazing seemed like a good idea to me. Also, I love my culture and am always interested in knowing what my people had to go through, so my target was an African-American woman who was involved in the gender equality movement.
The process of this project went pretty smoothly. I turned everything in on time, and each portion of the project helped me further my understanding of the gender equality movement. The research portion that I felt was most effective was the timeline, simply because it helped me learn the chronological events that happened in Terrell’s life.
Sources
Biography.com Editors. "Mary Church Terrell." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.biography.com/people/mary-church-terrell-9504299#an-activists-life>.
Steptoe, Tyina. "Terrell, Mary Church (1863-1954) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed." Terrell, Mary Church (1863-1954) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. National Endowment for the Humanities. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://www.blackpast.org/aah/terrell-mary-church-1863-1954>.
"Progress of a People: Mary Church Terrell." Progress of a People: Mary Church Terrell. United States Government, 19 Oct. 1998. Web. 28 Mar. 2016. <http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/aap/terrell.html>.
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