The Transformative Justice Coalition and the Voting Rights Alliance, in honor of Black History Month, are reviving the daily special series devoted to sharing the legacies and stories of the sheroes, heroes, and events in the fight for Black suffrage. This series was created in 2017 and added 4 NEW articles this year, and several newly revised, updated, or corrected ones. In addition to these daily newsletters all February long, this series also incorporates daily social media posts; an interactive calendar; and, website blog posts to spread the word broadly.
We encourage everyone to share this series to your networks and on social media under the hashtag #VRABlackHistory. You can also tweet us @TJC_DC to share your own facts.
Barbara Arnwine insisted that we could not have another year without publishing our Black History series! All month long, we have honored, recognized, and educated about a person, organization, or event, spanning over 5 centuries and told in chronological order, about those moments that forever changed the movement for African-American suffrage. The Transformative Justice Coalition thanks those who have been republishing our articles, on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, your websites, and even in the Tennessee Tribune. Over the 28 days of February 2022, these Black History emails were opened over 65,000 times, with over 600 individual clicks. You have responded to these emails with corrections, more information, asks to republish the series, and by expressing your thanks. We want to also extend our gratitude for your appreciation of the history this series shares.
This article is written by Caitlyn Cobb. All the sources are linked throughout the article with a full reference list at the end of the full article which can be read by clicking the button at the bottom of the page). This is an introductory summary page.
Today, February 14th, 2022, we want to show why we love and honor Mary Eliza Church Terrell. On September 23, 1863, in Memphis, Tennessee, this pioneering woman was born. She was born the same year the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, and she died two months after the Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education.
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.