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Nannie Helen Burroughs' birth
She was born in Orange, Virginia to her mother, Jennie, who was a former slave and her father, John, whose father was enslaved but bought his freedom before he was born. Nannie had two younger sisters who both died when she was about five years old. Her father died nearly three years later. -
Burroughs Moves with Her Mother to Washington, D.C.
After the death of her father, Nannie Helen and her mother Jennie moved to D.C. where she could get a better, more rigorous education. Burroughs graduated (with honors) from M Street Colored High School (1898). -
String of New Job Opportunities
After her devastating setback with the DCPSD, Burroughs accepted a position at a Baptist newspaper in Philadelphia. She eventually started work for the National Baptist Commission (NBC) where she was quickly promoted to work under the NBC's secretary. She eventually relocated to Louisville, Kentucky to work directly with him. It was there that she started to jumpstart her career in education: she founded a club that offered vocational classes at night to those who worked throughout the day. -
Burroughs is Denied a Position Teaching in Public Schools
After she graduated, Burroughs had dreams of teaching school. She applied with the District of Columbia Public School District, but was denied the position because the board said she was "too dark". Apparently, only lighter-skinned African Americans were allowed to teach. -
"How the Sisters are Hindered from Helping" Speech
At an NBC convention, Burroughs gave a compelling speech that would highlight some of the ways that Black women are held back from leadership roles in the church and some injustices they face. Burroughs' Life -
Founded National Baptist Women's Convention (NBWC)
Later that year, along with Mary Virginia Cook-Parrish, B founded the National Baptist Women's Convention. -
The National Training School
Unlike other black institutions like Tuskegee, The National Training School was funded and run completely by black Americans with no funding outside of the NBC Women's Auxiliary (which Burroughs was the president of for 27 years). Nannie Helen Burroughs Founded Her Own School -
Burroughs Founded Her Own School
Nannie Helen founded her own school alongside the Women's Convention called The National Training School for Women and Girls. Likely inspired by her rejection by the public school system in D.C., Burroughs founded this school as the very first vocational school in the nation for black women. The school was a boarding high school and a junior college that focused on black history, religious instruction, and trades that would help women make headway in the workforce (home economics, shoe repair). -
"The Crisis" Women's Suffrage
Burroughs contributed to articles written during the Women's Suffrage Movement by the NAACP called "The Crisis". One of her quotes in said article: "The ballot, wisely used, will bring to her [the African-American woman] the respect and protection that she needs...She needs the ballot to reckon with men who place no value upon her virtue, and to mould healthy public sentiment in favor of her own protection." -
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Activism Across U.S.
Some organizations that Burroughs either was an active member in, founded, or helped found:
-National Association of Colored Women (NACW)
-National Association of Wage Earners (NAWE)
-National League of Republican Colored Women
-Committee Chair of Housing for African Americans
-National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) -
Friends with the Kings
Burroughs developed a close friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King Junior after having been long-time friends with his parents, Martin Luther King, Sr. and his wife Alberta. Nannie Helen led the way for women's participation in the Civil Rights Movement. -
Nannie Helen's Later Life
Burroughs continued to lead as president of the NBC Women's Auxiliary until she died of natural causes in 1961. She was never married and never had any children. She devoted all of her time on earth to the defense and education of young black women. A Tribute to Nannie Helen Burroughs