Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954) was an educator, lecturer, suffragist, and civil rights activist. Born into a prosperous Memphis family, Mary graduated from Oberlin College in 1895. She became the first black woman appointed to the District of Columbia Board of Education, was a founding president of the National Association of Colored Women and a founder of the NAACP. Mary Church Terrell’s papers at the Library of Congress consist of approximately 13,000 documents, comprising 25,323 images, all of which were digitized from 34 reels of previously produced microfilm. Spanning the years 1851 to 1962, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period 1886-1954, the collection contains diaries, correspondence, printed matter, clippings, and speeches and writings, primarily focusing on Terrell’s career as an advocate of women’s rights and equal treatment of African Americans. Volunteer transcriptions have enabled search and access for this collection at loc.gov. Join the Library of Congress from February 12-14, 2021 for a “Douglass Day transcribe-a-thon”. The goal is to complete the transcription of the final section of the her papers in honor of her close friend Frederick Douglass. Douglass Day (DD) 2021 will run over three days, so you might host an event for your office or school on Friday, or maybe you can find time to transcribe with your family on Saturday or Saturday! Many virtual events will be open to the public–if you want to try to join one, consult the DD map and contact the organizers to see if they might have space for you to join. The weekend will also feature virtual events including a cake contest with prizes and discussion among Mary Church Terrell experts. More info: DouglassDay.org.
Post expires at 8:12pm on Sunday February 14th, 2021
Leave a Reply