Ethel Cuff Black was born in 1890 in Wilmington, Delaware. Her father was a prominent banker, and her maternal grandfather was a Civil War Veteran.

As a youngster, Ethel attended Industrial School for colored Youth in Bordentown, New Jersey, and graduated with the highest grade point average in her class. She graduated cum laude with a major in education from Howard University in 1915, where she is credited with being one of the founding members of the prestigious Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.

After her college graduation, Ethel became the first African American teacher in Rochester, New York. She also taught in Oklahoma and Missouri, and worked at PS 108 in South Ozone Park, New York, where she taught for 27 years before her retirement in 1957. This chalkboard champion passed away on September 22, 1977.