Date: August 20, 2025 Legacy Makers: Stories of Black Inventors and Icons Title and Show Info Episode #34. Lifting as She Climbed: The Unyielding Legacy of Mary Church Terrell Featuring: Toni Davis (Host & Storyteller). Summary 🎙️ Lifting as She Climbed: The Unyielding Legacy of Mary Church Terrell What do you get when you cross fierce intellect, linguistic fluency, and an unshakable moral compass? You get Mary Church Terrell. An educator, orator, organizer, and certified barrier-breaker. Born in 1863 amid war and unrest, Mary was destined not only to witness history, but also to write it in bold ink. From mingling with Frederick Douglass at age 17, to publicly outwitting white supremacists in three languages, she didn’t just demand a seat at the table. She built new ones. In this episode, we trace Mary’s life from the grand porches of Memphis to the picket lines of Washington, D.C., and from founding the NACW to fighting segregation in court in her 80s. A pioneer in civil rights, women’s suffrage, and education, Mary’s story is one of grit wrapped in grace and resistance, and fueled by intellect and progress powered by purpose. She sued racists, marched with Delta Sigma Theta, dismantled Jim Crow one law at a time, and didn’t stop until everyone could sit at the lunch counter. Whether addressing world leaders or starting kindergartens, Mary lived her motto: Lifting as we climb. Tune in for a tale of courage, clarity, and class. This isn’t just history. It’s a masterclass in how to change the world without ever losing your fire. 🕊️ Because Mary Church Terrell didn’t just open doors. She kicked them off the hinges.  #LegacyMakers #PodcastEpisode #MaryChurchTerrell #BlackSuffragist #VotesForWomen   Highlights: 00:57- INTRO.  01:04- MARY CHURCH’S BIRTH AS A FREE PERSON OF COLOR. 01:32- HER FATHER ROBERT REED CHURCH. 02:28- HER MOTHER LOUISA AYRES CHURCH. 02:52- HER BROTHER THOMAS CHURCH. 02:58- ANTIOCH COLLEGE’S MODEL SCHOOL. 03:38- OBERLIN COLLEGE. 04:30- EARNS A BA DEGREE IN CLASSICS. 04:43- TEACHES LANGUAGES AT WILBERFORCE COLLEGE. 05:03- EARNS A MASTERS DEGREE IN EDUCATION. 05:13- TRAVELS ABROAD. 05:22- RETURNS TO DC. 05:30- MARRIES ROBERT HEBERTON TERRELL. 05:49- THOMAS MOSS. 06:18- CO-FOUNDS THE COLORED WOMEN’S LEAGUE. 06:47- THE FEDERATION OF AFRO-AMERICAN WOMEN. 06:56- TWO UNIONS MERGE INTO THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COLORED WOMEN. 07:22- PURCHASE A LOT IN HIGHLAND BEACH, MD. 07:37- SUPERINTENDENT OF THE DC BOARD OF EDUCATION. 07:49- ESTABLISHES FREDERICK DOUGLASS DAY. 07:53- FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE NACW. 07:59- CELEBRATES THE FIRST ANNUAL FREDERICK DOUGLASS DAY IN DC SCHOOLS. 08:14- GIVES BIRTH TO THEIR DAUGHTER, PHYLLIS, AND ADOPTS HER NIECE. 08:23- SPEECH, “THE PROGRESS OF COLORED WOMEN”, AT THE NAWSA. 08:50- PUBLISHES, “LYNCHING FROM A NEGRO POINT OF VIEW”. 09:02- DELIVERS AN ADDRESS TO THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF WOMEN. 09:18- JOINS THE DC CHAPTER OF THE AAUW. 09:36- DELIVERS AN ADDRESS TO THE SENECA FALLS HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 09:44- CO-FOUNDS THE NAACP DC BRANCH. 09:57- ALLOWS HER AAUW MEMBERSHIP TO LAPSE. 10:05- CO-FOUNDS THE COLLEGE ALUMNAE CLUB LATER RENAMED THE NAUW. 10:22- ROBERT IS APPOINTED AS THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGE IN DC. 10:36- ENDS SERVICE WITH THE DC BOARD OF EDUCATION. 10:42- WRITES THE OATH FOR DELTA SIGMA THETA AND BECOMES AN HONORARY MEMBER. 10:55- DESEGREGATES THE NEW YORK SUFFRAGE PARADE LED BY ALICE PAUL. 11:04- THEIR COTTAGE, VILLA AHOLA, IS BUILT NEXT DOOR TO FREDERICK DOUGLASS IN HIGHLAND BEACH, MD. 11:37- PICKETT’S THE WHITE HOUSE WITH THE NATIONAL WOMAN’S PARTY. 11:48- WAR CAMP COMMUNITY SERVICE. 12:02- INTERNATIONAL PEACE CONFERENCE. 12:10- WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE FOR PEACE AND FREEDOM 12:19- 19TH AMENDMENT. 12:53- PURCHASES A MODEL-T CAR AND TAKES MECHANIC CLASSES. 13:02- WRITES HER AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 13:07- PUBLISHES HER AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 13:13- SERVES ON THE HIGHLAND BEACH CHARTER COMMITTEE. 13:21- INCORPORATES HIGHLAND BEACH, MD. 13:34- HER BELOVED HUSBAND, ROBERT, PASSES AWAY. 13:45- BURIED AT THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL CEMETERY IN SUITLAND, MD. 13:54- CAMPAIGNS FOR RUTH HANNA MCCORMICK. 14:07- ADVISES FOR HERBERT HOOVER’S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN. 14:16- HONORED BY OBERLIN COLLEGE AS ITS “TOP 100 OUTSTANDING ALUMNI” 14:27- WORLD FELLOWSHIP OF FAITHS. 14:35- DENIED REINSTATEMENT WITH THE AAUW, DC CHAPTER. 14:58- FILES A LAWSUIT THE AAUW AND WINS. 15:19- FILES A LAWSUIT AGAINST THOMPSON’S RESTAURANT IN DC AND WINS. 15:55- CELEBRATES HER 90TH BIRTHDAY. 16:12- HER BIRTHDAY LUNCHEON. 16:23- MARY CHURCH TERRELL FUND. 16:30- BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION DECISION. 16:42- PASSES AWAY IN HIGHLAND BEACH, MD. 17:06- HONORED BY THE FIRST LADY MAMIE EISENHOWER. 17:25- HER DAUGHTER PHYLLIS BECOMES POSTMISTRESS OF HIGHLAND BEACH. 17:35- ACCOLADES. 18:27- CONCLUSION. Subscribe to the podcast.   Links To Additional Resources: Mary Church Terrell | National Women's History Museum Introducing the 2020 National Women’s Hall of Fame Virtual Inductees | Women of the Hall Mary Church Terrell - Wikipedia Because of Her Story: Activist and Suffragist Mary Church Terrell | National Museum of African American History and Culture Mary Church Terrell - Quotes, Speech & Facts Mary Church Terrell (September 23, 1863 - July 24, 1954) | National Archives Mary Church Terrell (U.S. National Park Service) Our New Name: Mary Church Terrell / Welcome (may not need) Social Welfare History Project Terrell, Mary Church Mary Church Terrell | Oberlin College Libraries Life & Achievements of Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954) Terrell, Mary Church | Women of the Hall Timeline | Articles and Essays | Mary Church Terrell Papers | Digital Collections | Library of Congress Life Story: Mary Church Terrell - Women & the American Story Mary Church Terrell: Black Suffragist and Civil Rights Activist (U.S. National Park Service) Mary Church Terrell | DPLA Mary Church Terrell Mary Terrell (Church) (1863 - 1954) - Genealogy The Life and Work of Mary Church Terrell - AAIHS Mary Church Terrell - Ohio History Connection Online Classroom Learning From Mary Church Terrell (U.S. National Park Service) Mary Church Terrell’s Influence on Black History Month - AAIHS “Lifting as We Climb” Mary Church Terrell and the 19th Amendment Mary Church Terrell - Kids | Britannica Kids | Homework Help Mary Church Terrell Facts for Kids Mary Eliza Church Terrell | Civil rights leader, Educator, Activist | Britannica Turning Point Suffragist Memorial: 100 years in the Making Women-Win-the-Vote-Gazette-Volume-2.pdf 2021-NWHA-Magazine2.pdf Women's Voices, Women's Votes Turning Point Suffragist Memorial » Mary Church Terrell (1863 – 1954) Mary Church Terrell and Mary White Ovington | National Postal Museum 4384a - 2009 42c Civil Rights Pioneers: Mary Church Terrell and Mary White Ovington - Mystic Stamp Company Birth of Mary Church Terrell | Mystic Stamp Discovery Center 42c Mary Church Terrell and Mary White Ovington single | National Postal Museum African American Subjects on U.S. Postage Stamps - Who we are - About.usps.com Civil Rights Pioneers Honored on Stamps Terrell was a Civil Rights and voting rights pioneer Mary Church Terrell, 1863-1954 - WWP Washington, D.C.: Mary Church Terrell House (U.S. National Park Service) Mary Church Terrell House - Around Robin Mary Church Terrell House - This was the home of distinguished civil rights activist, suffragist, and educator Mary Church Terrell, who served as the first president of the National Association of Colored Women. | DC Historic Sites Civil Rights Tour: Protest - Mary Church Terrell, Tireless Advocate - 1615 S Street NW | DC Historic Sites Mary Church Terrell House - Atlas Obscura D.C. Black History Spotlight: Mary Church Terrell (1863-1954)  | The Georgetowner Visiting Terrell Place for National African American History Month in honor of Mary Church Terrell - NBBJ | ESI Design Mary Church Terrell House, 326 T Street Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, DC | Library of Congress 100 Greatest African Americans 100 Greatest African Americans - Wikipedia National Women's Hall of Fame Virtual Induction Series: Inaugural Event Program by kathleenkt - Issuu Women's Hall of Fame celebrates six new members Recognition long overdue: Natl. Women's Hall of Fame to honor new inductees Brown v. Board of Education (1954) | National Archives History - Brown v. Board of Education Re-enactment History of Brown v. Board of Education | NAACP Brown v. Board: When the Supreme Court ruled against segregation | Constitution Center What Was Brown v. Board of Education? Brown v. Board of Education (1954) | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute Brown v. Board of Education | The Case that Changed America Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education: Library of Congress Resources | In Custodia Legis Biographical Sketch of Phyllis Terrell (Langston), 1898-1989 | Alexander Street, part of Clarivate National Association of Colored Women — History of U.S. Woman's Suffrage Mary Church Terrell: Black Suffragist and Civil Rights Activist — Women's Suffrage Centennial Commission Image 95 of Mary Church Terrell Papers: Family Correspondence, 1890-1955; Phyllis Terrell Goines Parks Langston (daughter); 1913-1935 | Library of Congress Image 52 of Mary Church Terrell Papers: Family Correspondence, 1890-1955; Phyllis Terrell Goines Parks Langston (daughter); 1913-1935 | Library of Congress 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women's Right to Vote (1920) | National Archives The 19th Amendment, Explained | Brennan Center for Justice 19th Amendment - Women's History (U.S. National Park Service) U.S. Senate: Woman Suffrage Centennial Overview of the Nineteenth Amendment, Women’s Suffrage | Constitution Annotated | Congress.gov | Library of Congress The People's Grocery Lynching, Memphis, Tennessee - JSTOR Daily The People's Grocery Lynchings (Thomas Moss, Will Stewart, Calvin McDowell) On Mar 09, 1892: Three Black Grocers Lynched in Memphis, Tennessee March 9, 1892: The People’s Grocery Lynchings - Zinn Education Project Ida B. Wells and "Lynch-Law" Calvin McDowell, William Stewart, and Thomas Moss New York Times, 3/10/1892 | The Lynching Sites Project of Memphis The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow . Jim Crow Stories . Ida B. Wells Flees Memphis | PBS Mary Church Terrell – Douglass Day Mary Church Terrell – First Wave Feminisms (1897) Mary Church Terrell, "In Union There is Strength" | BlackPast.org Mary Church Terrell | EBSCO Research Starters Rights for African American Women (Educational Materials: African American Odyssey) Judge Robert Heberton Terrell (1857-1925) - Find a Grave Memorial Mary Church Terrell | Quotations By Women Mary Church Terrell - Wikiquote Mary Church Terrell Quotes TOP 17 QUOTES BY MARY CHURCH TERRELL | A-Z Quotes Mary Church Terrell Quotes (Author of A Colored Woman in a White World)  

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