Mary Church Terrell

Mary Church was born to enslaved parents in 1863. Her mother and father both had white fathers who took interest in their lives and made sure they were educated. The family was eventually free of their bondage and went on to be business owners and gain significant wealth. Mary attended unsegregated schools and eventually went to college and graduated with both bachelor's and master's degrees. She started her career as a teacher and eventually became an activist for both racial equality and women's suffrage.