February 6 - Mary Eliza Church Terrell (1863-1954)

Today we honor Mary Eliza Church Terrell. Mary was a strong advocate for Black woman suffrage, often highlighting the struggles that Black women had to go through that White women didn’t.

Mary did a lot in her life, but her main focus was voting rights, as she recognized and said that she “belonged ‘to the only group in this country that has two obstacles to surmount, both sex and race.’”

Mary was born to former mix-raced slaves Robert Reed Church and Louisa Ayers who used their newfound freedom to become small business-owners and made themselves vital members of Memphis’ growing Black population. Because of their ambition, Mary’s parents were prosperous and Mary was able to take advantage of many opportunities not available to most Black people during that time.

Her parents instilled in her and her brother the value of education. And her parents’ ambition and love of education penetrated Mary to her core, and became a vital aspect of her personality, and she would go on to keep fighting for civil rights even when she was 90 years old. Mary was not just a voting rights hero; but, was also a writer, educator, and all-around civil rights activist.