Myrtilla Miner (1815-1864) was a pioneering American educator and abolitionist who was a leader in providing teacher training to free Black women. She viewed knowledge and education as essential to ending slavery and saw teachers as clearly vital to that cause. 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, we’re talking about a woman who fought for educational equality for Black women. Her work helped ensure that Black kids could access public school education in Washington DC.
Let’s talk about Myrtilla Miner.
Myrtilla was born on March 4, 1815 in Brookfield, New York. From a young age, she suffered from a spinal disorder that made physical labor difficult. Even so, as a child, she loved reading so much that she would pick hops - a flower used for brewing beer - to pay for books.
Myrtilla started her formal schooling at the Female Domestic Seminary in Clinton, New York. The school’s physical labor requirements were impossible for Myrtilla to complete, so in 1840, Myrtilla transferred to Clover Street Seminary in Rochester, New York. After she graduated, she became a teacher.
In 1847, Myrtilla moved to Mississippi to teach at the Newton Female Institute in Whitesville. While Myrtilla was there, she witnessed the cruelty of slavery up close. Because Myrtilla believed that education was an important step towards ending slavery, she tried to start teaching Black girls in Mississippi - but she was forbidden from doing so.
So in 1849, Myrtilla returned to New York with a new mission - to found a school where young Black girls could recieve an education, and be trained to become teachers themselves.
This endeavor was risky. Frederick Douglass told Myrtilla that she would go through great hardship, and that her school would certainly fail. But Myrtilla forged ahead. On December 3, 1851 Myrtilla began teaching six Black students in a 14 square foot room in Washington DC.
The backlash against the school was immense. White city leaders tried to close down the school. Angry mobs tried to burn it down. At one point, Myrtilla had to brandish a pistol to deter the crowds. Myrtilla was forced to move the school’s location three times in two years, and many landlords refused to rent to her since she was teaching Black students.
But despite the pushback, Myrtilla’s school flourished. After two months, the school expanded from six students to forty. And in 1853, Myrtilla found a permanent location for her school, naming it ‘The Normal School for Colored Girls’. It was the only place in DC where Black girls could get an education beyond the elementary level.
Myrtilla’s students had access to a library of over 1,500 books and attended lectures with scholars from all over the country. Five years after its founding, six of the school’s students had become teachers.
In 1860, the school was forced to close its doors due to the Civil War and Myrtilla’s worsening health. But in 1863, Congress reestablished the school through a Congressional charter. It was renamed “The Institution for the Education of Colored Youth”.
Unfortunately, Myrtilla didn’t get to see her school reinstated. In 1864, she was injured in a carriage accident, and on December 17, 1864, she died following complications from those injuries. She was 49 years old.
After Myrtilla’s death, her school ran independently until 1879, when the city incorporated it into DC’s public school system. After segregation was outlawed, the school was combined with another school and renamed the District of Columbia Teachers College.
Myrtilla’s activism helped Black people in DC secure the right to education, and her legacy lives on in the city’s public school system to this day.
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