Biography
Delany was the third of ten children born to the Rev. Henry Beard Delany (1858–1928), the first Black person elected Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, and Nanny Logan Delany (1861–1956), an educator. H.B. Delany was born into slavery in St. Mary's, Georgia. Nanny Logan Delany was born in a community then known as Yak, Virginia, seven miles from Danville.
Bessie Delany was born and raised on the campus of St. Augustine's School (now College) in Raleigh, N.C., where her father was the Vice-Principal and her mother, a teacher and administrator. Delany was a 1911 graduate of the school. In 1918, she followed her sister to New York City, enrolling at Columbia University, from which she earned her dental degree in 1923. Of 170 students in her graduating class, she was the only Black female. She shared a dental office with her brother, Dr. H.B. Delany Jr., at 2305 Seventh Avenue, and later, 2303 Seventh Avenue, in Harlem. She participated in many protests and marches, and encouraged civil rights organizers to meet at her and her brother's office.
Read more about this topic: Annie Elizabeth Delany
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