This semester, I am enrolled in an education course called In the Company of Educated Women, the title borrowed from Barbara Miller Solomon’s first-of-its-kind history of American women in education by the same name. Being a part of this course is so exciting because it combines three of my absolute favorite things to study: gender, education, and American history (nerd, I know). While the history of education in the 1800 and 1900s may seem suuuuuuper dry and boring to some, to me it illustrates the profound impact identity intersections have on the opportunities of individuals in the United States of America. While the course is focused on gender identity, we also touch on other identities that intersect with women’s experiences in education, one of them being race. In particular, the effects of racial discrimination on Black women of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in their pursuit of an education was profound and created a unique form of oppression experienced by only the least-privileged people of that time. Black women not only faced exclusion from traditionally male academies because of their gender, but they were also barred from attending female seminaries because of their race. And if they did manage to get into a women’s school, they were made to sit outside the classroom because they could not be allowed in white feminine spaces. They were expelled for concerns over what their mere presence may insight. They were ridiculed for their lack of “ladyhood” which could only be obtained by white women. They were in a constant cycle of trying to escape their situation but having no way to do it. The system was too strong, too oppressive.
While there have been many Black girls and women with great minds and educational aspirations whose stories have been forgotten or never even told, there are a few stories we know of courageous, powerful, intelligent women who were able to break the mold that was deemed fit for them and work towards not only an education for themselves but towards making the education system work for more women like them. As we approach the end of Black History Month and transition into Women’s History Month, I wanted to shed some light onto just two of these Black educational QUEENS and the extraordinary work they have accomplished.
Anna Julia Cooper – born Aug. 10, 1858 in Raleigh, NC
-
born into slavery (her master was also her father DISGUSTING)
-
attended a school for former slaves at 10 y/o where she fought to take traditionally male courses and where she met her husband. But then he had to go and die two years in BOYS SUCK (she never remarried to pursue her career but took on five orphaned children)
-
went to Oberlin (yay Ohio!) to get her bachelor’s degree in math as well as her master’s
-
taught traditionally male subjects like math, science, and Greek and later became a public speaker, writer, and school principal
-
founded many organizations and institutions including the Colored Women’s League, a Colored YWCA, and a Colored Settlement House to help Black women and other poor, marginalized members of her community in Washington, DC.
-
earned her PhD at age SIXTY SIX in French from the Sorbonne in France (only the fourth African American woman to earn a PhD!)
-
president of Frelinghuysen University, a black college in DC, for ten years & later a professor
-
lived until she was ONE HUNDRED AND FIVE YEARS OLD DANG
(Feminists For Life of America)
“It is not the intelligent woman v. the ignorant woman; nor the white woman v. the black, the brown, and the red, it is not even the cause of woman v. man. Nay, tis woman’s strongest vindication for speaking that the world needs to hear her voice.” – Anna Julia Cooper
Septima Clark – born May, 1898 in Charleston, SC
-
attended teacher training school and started her teaching career at 18 y/o in a one room schoolhouse
-
joined the Charleston chapter of the NAACP
-
was not allowed to teach in the Charleston public school system because of her race so she took up social activism for the first time and won the right to teach!
-
joined the NAACP in fighting for public school integration, but when asked to keep her NAACP membership a secret she refused and was fired WTF!!!! (she devoted all her newfound time to activism)
-
founder of Citizenship Schools where she taught African American men and women to read and write so they would be able to vote
-
worked with MLK and Rosa Parks to advocate for Black rights
-
died at 89 y/o in her home state of South Carolina
(National Park Service)
“I never felt that getting angry would do you any good other than hurt your own digestion- keep you from eating, which I liked to do.” – Septima Clark (PREACH!)