1933 – Mary Church Terrell Dies, Champion of Black Women’s Rights

Mary Church Terrell, one of the first African American women to earn a college degree, died on June 16, 1954. Born in 1863, she was a pioneering educator, writer, and activist who fought tirelessly for racial and gender equality. As a founder and first president of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), she helped create a national platform for Black women’s voices. Terrell was also a founding member of the NAACP and spent decades advocating for anti-lynching laws and women’s suffrage. She lived to see the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision and was still protesting segregated restaurants in Washington, D.C., just months before her death. Her legacy represents the intersection of Black liberation and women’s rights, and she remains a towering figure in civil rights history. Her death on June 16 marked the end of a life dedicated to justice and uncompromising advocacy.