Happy 106th Birthday to Fanny Jackson Coppin! 🎈
Coppin was the second Black American woman in the country to earn a bachelor’s degree and the first Black American woman to become a school principal.
#blackwomenradicals
Coppin was the second Black American woman in the country to earn a bachelor’s degree and the first Black American woman to become a school principal.
#blackwomenradicals
"Born an American slave, Coppin's freedom was purchased by her aunt at age 12. Fanny Jackson spent the rest of her youth working as a servant for author George Henry Calvert, studying at every opportunity."
#blackwomenradicals
#blackwomenradicals
"In 1860, she enrolled in Oberlin College in Ohio, the first college in the United States to accept both black & female students. During her years as a student at Oberlin, she taught an evening course for free African Americans in reading & writing."
#blackwomenradicals
#blackwomenradicals
"She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in 1865. In 1865, Coppin accepted a position at Philadelphia's Institute for Colored Youth (now @CheyneyUniv).
She served as the principal of the Ladies Department and taught Greek, Latin, and Mathematics."
#blackwomenradicals
She served as the principal of the Ladies Department and taught Greek, Latin, and Mathematics."
#blackwomenradicals
In 1869, Fanny Jackson was appointed as the principal of the Institute after the departure of Ebenezer Bassett, becoming the first African American woman to become a school principal."
#blackwomenradicals
#blackwomenradicals
"In her 37 years at the Institute, Fanny Jackson was responsible for vast educational improvements in Philadelphia. During her years as principal, she was promoted by the board of education to superintendent."
#blackwomenradicals
#blackwomenradicals
"She was the first African American superintendent of a school district in the United States, but soon went back to the being a school principal."
#blackwomenradicals
#blackwomenradicals
"In 1893, Coppin was one of five African American women invited to speak at the World's Congress of Representative Women in Chicago, with Anna Julia Cooper, Sarah Jane Woodson Early, Fannie Barrier Williams, and Hallie Quinn Brown."
#blackwomenradicals
#blackwomenradicals
"After almost a decade of missionary work, Coppin's declining health forced her to return to Philadelphia, & she died on January 21, 1913. In 1926, a Baltimore teacher training school was named the Fanny Jackson Coppin Normal School (now @CoppinStateUniv)."
#blackwomenradicals
#blackwomenradicals
