The daughter of former slaves, Terrell was born on September 23, 1863, in
Memphis, Tennessee. Her father, Robert Reed Church, was a successful
businessman who became one of the South’s first African American
millionaires. Her mother, Louisa Ayres Church, owned a hair salon. She had one brother. Terrell’s parents divorced during her childhood. Their affluence and belief in the importance of education enabled Terrell to attend the Antioch College laboratory school in Ohio, and later Oberlin College, where she earned both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. Terrell spent two years teaching at Wilburforce College before moving to Washington DC, in 1887 to teach at the M Street Colored High School. There she met, and in 1891, married Heberton Terrell, also a teacher. The Terrell’s had one daughter and later adopted a second daughter.
Not all women received the right to vote in 1920. Even after the 19th Amendment was passed obstacles remained for women of color. For the next 45 years in much of the country, hurdles like poll taxes and literacy tests kept black voters disenfranchised until the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which outlawed discriminatory voting practices. To this day, obstacles to voting still exist, and it is up to a new generation to take up the cause of voter suppression.
