Nannie Helen Burroughs

Nannie Helen Burroughs Portrait

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Making Her Way

Nannie Helen Burroughs was born May 2, 1879 in Orange, Virginia to formerly enslaved parents, John and Jennie Burroughs. According to historians, John died sometime in the 1880s. The strong-willed, Jennie, moved to Washington, D.C. in 1884 to take advantage of the educational and employment opportunities that living in the nation’s capital offered. Nannie proved a dynamic student, graduating with honors from M Street High School (now known as Paul Laurence Dunbar Senior High School) in 1896; soon after, she applied as an assistant to the domestic science teacher at her alma mater. Despite her record of academic excellence, she was turned down for the position. Several historians maintain that Burroughs was passed over because of her dark-skinned complexion and lack of social connections among D.C.’s aristocrats of color.

 

Nannie Helen Burroughs and members of the Women's Auxiliary of the National Baptist Convention (NBC).

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Faith, Fortitude, and Providence

Although disappointed, Burroughs pressed on. Her search for employment took her to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she worked as associate editor for the Christian Banner, a Baptist Newspaper. Earning a high score on the Civil Service Exam, Burroughs returned to Washington, D.C., hoping to secure a job as a clerk; when that goal was not realized, she moved to Louisville, Kentucky. There she rented a house and organized the Women’s Industrial Club, teaching millinery and early 20^th century home essentials. Her efforts drew the attention of local journalists who praised her passion for uplifting her race. Undoubtedly, Burroughs idea for what would become the National Trade and Professional School for Women and Girls, was being shaped. In 1900, at just twenty-one, she gave a speech, “How the Sisters Are Hindered from Helping”, at the National Baptist Convention’s (NBC) annual meeting. Her ability to charm the audience did not go unnoticed. That year she was named Corresponding Secretary for Women’s Convention of the NBC, a position she held for nearly fifty years, before becoming president in 1948.

 

Students at the National Trade and Professional School for Women and Girls in Washington, D.C., ca. early 1920s

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Vision Made Reality

Armed with a detailed plan and years of field practice, Burroughs proposed the creation of an industrial school centered around academic development to the National Baptist Convention. The organization purchased six acres of land in Northeast, Washington, D.C. Relying exclusively on donations from the Black community, she constructed and opened the National Trade and Professional School for Women and Girls in 1909. By 1928, Burroughs had expanded course offerings, oversaw construction of a larger building, and increased the student population to include women and girls from across the country, the Caribbean, and Africa.

In addition to her work as an educator and church leader, Burroughs was active in politics and civil rights. She held membership in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, Inc. (now known as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc. or ASALH). Moreover, she founded or help-to-found the National League of Republican Colored Women, the International Council of Women of the Darker Races, and National Association of Wage Earners. Burroughs died on May 20, 1961 having dedicated her entire life to the advancement of the Black race, especially Black working-class women.


Sources:

Graves, Kelisha, B., editor. Nannie Helen Burroughs: A Documentary Portrait of an Early Civil Rights Pioneer, 1900-1959. University of Notre Dame Press, 2019.

Harley, Sharon. “Nannie Helen Burroughs: ‘The Black Goddess of Liberty.” The Journal of Negro History 81, No. 1 (1996): 62-71