"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : NANNIE H BURROUGHS

The year was 1896, Nannie had just graduated from “M Street High School”( in Washington D.C.). Although she had moved to Philadelphia to take a position as assistant editor at a Baptist newspaper, she still had a desire to be a teacher back in Washington. So, Nannie moved back to Washington to take the Civil Service Exam. After passing the exam with high scores, she found out that she didn’t get the teaching position{ the school administrators were partial to light-skinned Negroes }. It broke her heart, but at the same time,”SHE RECEIVED A VISION FOR SOMETHING BETTER!“ In 1898, Nannie decided to move to Louisville, Kentucky to accept a position as secretary of the Foreign Mission Board of the National Baptist Convention. Soon after taking the position, she saw a path toward implementing the vision she got when she was in Washington. Part of her vision was to start an Industrial Club for Negro Women in Louisville. Nannie used the club as a training school to teach Black women life skills. She came up with her own unique curriculum for the women. The curriculum included lessons in areas such as hygiene, child care, sanitation, hygiene, cooking, sewing and laundry. The club worked out fine. However, it was mainly because of the speech that she made at the National Baptist Convention( in Virginia in 1900 ) that really catapulted her into the National spotlight, and gained her much recognition amongst her people! The title of her speech was,”How the Sisters Are Hindered from Helping.” Surprisingly, In all my years of school, I have never heard any mention of her speech! Sometime between 1908 and 1909, Nannie moved back to Washington D.C. and started her famous school,” The National Training School for Women and Girls!” The school opened in 1909 with only nineteen students. However, by 1929, the school grew to 102 students, eight teachers, a small farm that was used for agricultural training, and eight buildings valued at over $225,000. Nannie’s School provided multiple types of education and training for Black Women and Girls[ from the US and abroad for careers as missionaries, teachers, domestic servants, dressmakers, business women, printers, social workers, and other various professions ]. Nannie felt that she could use her school to help challenge & change the dominant culture of the “immoral image” of Negroes in America. Additionally, Nannie created her own history course that was dedicated to informing Black Women and Girls about society influencing Negroes in history. Needless to say, she was adamant about teaching Black Women and Girls to be proud of their race! Nannie H. Burroughs was born on May 2, 1879, in Orange , Virginia to John and Jennie Burroughs. In 1883, sometime after the passing of one of her sisters and her father. Nannie and her mother moved to Washington D.C. to live with her mother’s sister. During the early 1890s, Nannie attended M Street High School where she met two of her early role models, Mary Church Terrell and Anna J Cooper{ who were both educators and highly involved in civil rights as well as women’s suffrage }. After graduating from M Street High School in 1896, Nannie went on to accomplish many great things in her lifetime. A few of them were, her speech at the 1900 National Baptist Convention, her “47 Years of Dedicated Service” to the National Baptist Convention, being hired as secretary of the Foreign Mission Board of the National Baptist Convention, President of the Women's Convention auxiliary of the National Baptist Convention[ she served as President for 13 years ], the founding of The National School for Women and Girls in Washington D.C., and her work with the NAACP( truly, these were just a few of her many,many achievements ). Tragically, on May 20, 1961, Nannie H Burroughs was found dead in her home in Washington D.C. of natural causes. In 1964, the school that she founded, The National School for Women and Girls was changed to “The Nannie Burroughs School” in her honor. Even though she has long been gone from amongst us, Nannie left behind a legacy that is still inspiring Black Women, Men, and Black Youth of all ages!