Today we celebrate for our black history topic, Mary Church Terrell. Born September 23, 1863 in Memphis, Tennessee to Robert Church and Louisa Ayers. She was one of the first African Americans to earn a college degree. When her longtime friend Thomas Moss was killed in Memphis in 1892 by white people because his company rivaled theirs, it ignited her action. Although Terrell participated in anti-lynching efforts alongside Ida B. Wells-Barnett, his life's work was centered on the idea of racial uplift. With the conviction that black people might overcome racial prejudice by advancing not just themselves but also other members of their race via employment, education, and community involvement.
As years passed the 19th Amendment was ratified, Terrell concentrated on more comprehensive civil rights. Her autobiography, A Colored Woman in a White World, which detailed her encounters with prejudice, was published in 1940. After winning an anti-discrimination case, Terrell joined the American Association of University Women in 1948 as its first black member. She protested segregation in public places at the John R. Thompson Restaurant in Washington, DC, in 1950, when she was eighty-six years old. When the Supreme Court declared in 1953 that segregated restaurants were unconstitutional, it was a significant victory for her and the civil rights movement. Four years later, Terrell passed away in Highland Beach, Maryland.
In these times we live in now, we need a lot more Mary Terrell’s. Not saying exactly like her but in that image. Especially black women. The next generation to follow needs it. We did an episode on her Election Talk - Mary Church Terrell ft Duan & Q - Homeisode 14. It was definitely worth the research. We hope it inspires you as well.
Blessings,
Duan Barrino
