Meet Mary Jane Patterson, the first African American woman to graduate from an American post-secondary institution with a bachelor’s degree, in 1862.
Born to a free family, Patterson graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio. She became the first African American principal at a preparatory high school in Washington, DC, and she was a founding member of the Colored Woman’s League (CWL), a precursor to the well-known National Association of Colored Women (NACW).
Check out this week’s #TBT (throwback Thursday) snapshot to learn more about her life: www.cocoonclub.org/tbt
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