Discrimination against African Americans is something that will forever be avoided and unspoken of among the people of the United States. This is something that many people have died and fought for over the last hundred decades. Women and men have lost their lives fighting for the respect they rightly deserved. Mary Church Terrell fought for equal rights for African Americans to be treated fairly. She fought against the injustice towards her people who were forced to sit at the back of the bus and had to use the water fountain labeled “for blacks”. Mary believed that "racial pride could supplant feelings of racial inferiority if African Americans were only more aware of the accomplishments of their ancestors." Who is Mary Eliza Church Terrell? In the late 1800s, African Americans faced discrimination based on their skin color. It was rare for African Americans who had completed high school to lead the university on their own. Mary Church had these opportunities because of her father's wealth. Her wealth afforded her opportunities that no African American woman had. She was able to meet influential people such as Fredrick Douglas and Booker T. Washington. Due to Mary's education and her father's wealth, which helped her gain the knowledge she needed to fight for the rights of her peers. Mary Church was born September 23, 1863 in Memphis, Tennessee, to Robert Reed Church and Louisa Ayers. , both former slaves. His father, Robert Church, was biracial and believed to be the son of his white master, Charles Church. Robert Church achieved considerable wealth by investing in real estate in Memphis. As a child, Mary attended the Antioch College Model School in Yellow Springs, Ohio, which was a very prestigious organization. , and it did not promote a change in the domestic nature of a social position. It was simply about promoting a change in the way African American women were treated in society. Once the 19th Amendment was ratified, Church began to focus more on her public speaking skills, which would serve her well when she was nominated for a position as school board president. Works Cited McHenry, Elizabeth. 2007. “Toward a History of Access: The Case of Mary Church Terrell.” American Literary History 19, no. 2: 381-401WATSON, MARTHA SOLOMON. 2009. “MARY CHURCH TERRELL PAGE AGAINST THOMAS NELSON: GENDER, RACE, AND CLASS IN ANTI-LYNCING RHETORIC.” » Rhetoric and Public Affairs 12, no. 1: 65-89. Nash, Margaret. 2004. “Patient Persistence: The Political and Educational Values ​​of Anna Julia Cooper and Mary Church Terrell.” » Educational Studies 35, no. 2: 122-136.