Mary Ann Shadd was born October 9, 1823 in Wilmington, Delaware. Mary Ann was the oldest of thirteen children. Mary Ann’s father and mother were freeborn abolitionists. Mary Ann’s father name was Abraham Doras Shadd and her mother’s name was Harriett Parnell Shadd. Abraham was a prosperous shoemaker and a war veteran of the War for Independence. In Delaware during this time it was forbidden for blacks to receive an education. The Shadd’s moved to West Chester, Pennsylvania in 1833 so Mary could attend a Quaker Boarding School until 1839. Mary was raised in a family dedicated to the abolition of slavery and her childhood home served as a shelter for fugitive slaves. In 1840, Mary Ann opened a school in West Chester, Pennsylvania for black …show more content…
After the civil war she moved to Wilmington, Delaware to teach black children. Later on Mary Ann and her children moved to Washington D.C. where she taught in the public schools and at Howard University. Mary Ann joined the National Woman Suffrage Association, speaking at its 1878 convention, and worked with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. She wrote for “National Era” and “The People’s Advocate.” In 1880’s Mary Ann attended law school at Howard University where she became the first woman to be accepted to Howard University Law School. Mary Ann testified before Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives and became the first African American woman to cast a vote in a national election. In June 5, 1893, Mary Ann Shadd Cary died of stomach cancer in Washington DC. Both American and Canadian feminist and Black civil rights movements claim her as a heroine. Her house in Washington DC is a National Historic Landmark but it is not open to the public. Toronto, Canada had dedicated a plaque to recognize her contribution in Canadian history. In 1985, Scarborough, Ontario, opened the Mary Shadd Public School. Mary Ann Shadd was an educator, an editor, an abolitionist, a feminist, an attorney, a wife, and a