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Reporting by: Caitlyn Arnwine (formerly Caitlyn Cobb) This article was written in 2017 and updated in 2018. All the sources are linked throughout the article in green. More information about the 2025 #VRABlackHistory Series can be found underneath the source list at the bottom.
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Today, February 16th, 2025, 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 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.
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