Mary Church Terrell

Mary Church Terrell (September 23, 1863 – July 24, 1954), daughter of former slaves, was one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree. She became an activist who led several important associations, including the National Associate of Colored Women, and worked for civil rights and suffrage.

Read more about Mary Church Terrell:  Early Life and Education, Career, Legacy and Honors, Works

Famous quotes containing the words mary, church and/or terrell:

    Remember, a woman has to work harder than a man and have more patience in order to achieve success.
    —Margaret Mary Morgan, U.S. suffragist, print shop owner, and politician. As quoted in Dianne Feinstein, ch. 5, by Jerry Roberts (1994)

    “To me it seems a shocking idea. I despise and loathe myself, and yet you thrust self at me from every corner of the church as though I loved and admired it. All religion does nothing but pursue me with self even into the next world.”
    Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)

    I cannot help wondering sometimes what I might have become and might have done if I had lived in a country which had not circumscribed and handicapped me on account of my race, but had allowed me to reach any height I was able to attain.
    —Mary Church Terrell (1863–1954)