A Role Model for Women!
written by Rachel W.
Mary Jane Patterson is regarded as the first African-American woman to earn a bachelor’s degree. Throughout her career, she was an educator and mentor to many African-American students.
Born into slavery in 1840, she was the oldest of seven children. When Patterson was 12, her father was freed from slavery, and a few years later, her family moved to Oberlin, OH. There, Patterson was given the opportunity to attend Oberlin College, a racially integrated coed college. She received a bachelor’s degree in 1862, making her the first African-American woman to do so.
After graduating college, she began teaching in Ohio. Later, she applied to teach at a school for African-American children in Norfolk, Virginia. She then moved to Washington, D.C., where she taught and was promoted to principal at the Preparatory High School for Colored Youth.
Patterson was active in many organizations throughout her life that focused on uplifting women and the African-American community of D.C. She continued teaching until her death on September 24, 1894.