Danette O'Neal, PhD

#HappyBirthday to African American educator and activist Fannie Barrier Williams, born #OnThisDay in 1855. Born in Brockport, New York to free parents Williams and her siblings attended public school. In 1870, Williams became the first African American to graduate from the State Normal School in Brockport. At the end of the Civil War, Williams took a teaching job in the south to help educate newly freed slaves. She then moved to Chicago which hosted the World’s Fair in 1893 and Williams along with other black female leaders protested their exclusion from the fair’s planning. Williams was appointed to gather exhibits for the women’s hall and was able to give two speeches during the fair. She argued that African American women were eager and ready for education and to learn new skills to a mostly white audience. Williams speeches were so well received she became a popular author and orator. She helped form the National League of Colored Women in 1896 along with other black women clubs to help women as they moved north. #womenshistory #BlackHistoryMonth