Mary Church Terrell daughter of former slaves, was one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree. She became an activist

Activism

Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...

 who led several important associations and worked for civil rights and suffrage

Suffrage

Suffrage, political franchise, or simply the franchise, distinct from mere voting rights, is the civil right to vote gained through the democratic process...

.
Terrell was born in Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

, to Robert Reed Church

Robert Reed Church

Robert Reed Church was an African-American entrepreneur and landowner who lived most of his adult life in Memphis, Tennessee. His father, Captain Charles B. Church was a white steamship owner. His mother was Emmeline, a slave owned by his father...

 and Louisa Ayers, both former slaves

History of slavery in the United States

Slavery in the United States was a form of slave labor which existed as a legal institution in North America for more than a century before the founding of the United States in 1776, and continued mostly in the South until the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in...

. Robert Church was mixed-race and said to be the son of his white master, Charles Church. He reputedly became a self-made millionaire from real-estate investments in Memphis and was married twice.