Lucy Diggs Slowe (1883-1937) was an American educator and athlete, and the first Black woman to serve as Dean of Women at any American university. She was a founder of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the first sorority founded by Black women. In 1922, she was appointed the first Dean of Women at Howard University. For those of you tuning in for the first time, welcome! Here’s the deal: Every weekday, we highlight the stories of iconic women in history you may not know about, but definitely should. We’re talking about women from around the world and throughout history. Each month is themed. This month we’re going back to school, highlighting educators and intellectuals.
This month, we're going back to school with stories of the most influential women educators in history.
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Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan and this is Womanica.
Today’s educator was a pioneer in both education and sports. She shaped the lives of many students throughout her career and would become the first Dean of Women at Howard University. While changing the world of education, she also managed to be a tennis champion and a social justice activist.
We’re talking about Lucy Diggs Slowe.
Lucy was born July 4, 1885 in Berryville, Virginia. She was one of seven children, and lost both of her parents when she was just six years old. Lucy and her siblings were raised by an aunt, who didn’t believe in what she called “playing in the mud” but felt strongly about education. Lucy’s aunt tutored the children. Then, when Lucy was 13, the family moved to Baltimore for access to better education.
There, Lucy enrolled in segregated public schools, and graduated in 1904 -- second in her class.
She worked to support herself through college, and was told it wasn’t customary for a woman to do such a thing. Her response? “Well I’ll be a pioneer.” Lucy also ended up getting a scholarship and she started her first semester at Howard University in 1904.
While she was at Howard, Lucy became one of the founding members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the first Greek sorority for Black women. It’s the sorority Vice President Kamala Harris would later join.
After she graduated -- as valedictorian, no less -- Lucy started working as a teacher at a high school in Baltimore. While teaching, she also traveled back and forth to New York. She got her master’s degree in English from Columbia University in 1915.
Somehow, Lucy had time to maintain a successful tennis career as well. In 1917, at the first American Tennis Association tournament, Lucy won the women’s singles competition. With that, she became the first Black woman in America to win a national sports title.
Lucy was also deeply involved in the community in Washington, D.C. She was a chair of the NAACP. And she fought for Black women to be part of the suffrage movement.
By 1919, Lucy was the principal of the first junior high school for Black students in Washington, D.C. There, she created the first integrated training program for teachers, supported by Columbia University.
In 1922, Lucy was hired as an English professor and Dean of Women at her alma mater, Howard University. In the 1920s and 30s, Howard, and many other institutions were run by men. And the climate was hostile to Black women in academia. As Dean of Women, Lucy was mindful of the limitations women and specifically Black women faced. She cared deeply about gender issues, and her teachers called her “instinctively a feminist.”
She felt strongly that her students should be trained to be modern leaders; that Black women needed training in economics, government, and community organization. Lucy encouraged students to get involved in local community affairs, and advocated for a women’s campus with appropriate housing and mentorship. She also sought to give guidance when it came to choosing a career or vocation.
Lucy also founded an annual women’s dinner at Howard. Men were invited, though they had to stay in the balcony as observers. And of course, there were male waiters. At these dinners there was lively conversation, singing, speeches, and pervasive feelings of solidarity and joy.
In 1926, when Mordecai Wyatt Johnson became Howard’s first Black president, things shifted for Lucy. He refused her a pay raise, and drained support from her department. Through it all, Lucy worked tirelessly in her role until her death.
Lucy never married. But for the last 15 years of her life, she lived with a local teacher and playwright, Mary Burrill. They never spoke publicly about their relationship or sexuality.
Lucy died on October 21, 1937 of cardiovascular-related kidney disease. She was 52 years old.
All month, we’re talking about women who changed the world of education.
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Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator.
Talk to you tomorrow!