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Social Studies educator Ethel Cuff Black was an active suffragist and the first African American public school teacher in Rochester, New York. Photo credit: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Many talented educators earn notoriety for fields of endeavor outside of the classroom. One of these was Ethel Cuff Black. She became an active suffragist, and broke barriers when she became the first African American teacher in Rochester, New York.
In addition, Ethel is credited with being one of the founding members of the prestigious Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. The organization devoted themselves to social activism and community service. Ethel was elected the sorority’s first Vice President. With her sorority sisters, the future educator attended the group’s first public event, the Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington, DC, in March of 1913. Prominent suffragist Mary Church Terrell had argued vigorously on behalf of the Deltas to win them a place in the parade, where they were the only African American organization to participate.
After her college graduation, Ethel became the first African American teacher to work in schools in Rochester, New York. Later she taught social studies in public schools in Oklahoma and Missouri, and she worked at PS 108 in South Ozone Park, New York, where she taught for 27 years. She also served as a faculty member at Delaware State College in Dover before her retirement in 1957.
This Chalkboard Champion passed away on September 17, 1977, at the age of 77. To learn more about her, read the obituary published by the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.