Mary Church Terrell

Photograph of Mary Church Terrell in 1884, the year she graduated from Oberlin College. Rather than taking the status quo “ladies course,” Ms. Terrell opted for the harder "gentlemen’s course,” and excelled.

“Eat Anywhere”: Mary Church Terrell’s Quest to End Segregation in the Nation’s Capital

Jane Williams
Junior Division
Historical Paper

Discrimination and segregation was part of life for most African-Americans during the nineteenth century, including Mary Church Terrell, an African American activist for women's and civil rights. Washington D.C., the Nation’s Capital, where Ms. Terrell spent most of her life, was a city of inequality. At the time, Washington D.C. was considered “just another southern town,” as it was prone to many instances of segregation.

Throughout most of history, segregation or division among humans, existed. Born in 1863, the year of the Emancipation Proclamation, Ms. Terrell was victim to discrimination at an early age. Her family members were slaves, and their harsh experiences impacted her. Ms. Terrell described her perspective of slavery. “It nearly killed me to think that my dear grandmother, whom I loved so devotedly, had once been a slave.”

Bright and full of ambition, Ms. Terrell rejected what was considered proper for a woman in her time. She graduated from college, which was rare for not only an African American, but for a woman. Ms. Terrell later moved to Washington D.C. and taught at M Street School. A high school for African Americans. The rules for female teachers were extremely strict and when Ms. Terrell married Robert Terrell, an African American teacher and lawyer, she was forced to give up teaching. As a married woman no longer allowed to teach, Ms. Terrell pursued education in other ways by becoming the first African American woman on the District of Columbia Board of Education. This sparked Ms. Terrell’s involvement in civil rights. Ms. Terrell championed women’s and African American rights, giving speeches, organizing protests, and standing up for her race. Her words inspired others, sparking hints of hope and change in a world that was segregated and unjust.

The Nation’s Capital, was not an African American’s paradise of equality and freedom. Segregation and prejudice was rampant. Washington D.C. was plagued with colored-only buildings and facilities and places that would not serve African Americans. Ms. Terrell believed that all people should be entitled to the same rights. “As a colored woman I may walk from the Capitol to the White House, ravenously hungry and abundantly supplied with money with which to purchase a meal, without finding a single restaurant in which I would be permitted to take a morsel of food, if it was patronized by white people, unless I were willing to sit behind a screen.”

On January 27, 1950, Ms. Terrell invited three friends to have lunch at Thompson’s Restaurant. An otherwise very popular lunch spot, Thompson’s Restaurant had one drawback: its refusal to serve African Americans . Ms. Terrell and her companions two other African Americans, Reverend William Jernagin, a Baptist minister, and Mrs. Geneva Brown, the secretary treasurer of the United Cafeteria and Restaurant Workers Association; and one caucasian, David Scull, a member of the Quaker Church walked through the door of Thompson’s Restaurant and joined the food line.

Nearing the front of the line, a white man introduced himself as the restaurant’s manager and informed them that they must leave, explaining that serving “colored people” is against the District of Columbia’s laws and public policy. Beginning with Mrs. Brown, each spoke up arguing there was no such law, but eventually left the restaurant without eating.

The next day, Ms. Terrell, Mr. Jernagin, Mrs. Brown, and Mr. Scull visited a notary public to notarize their incident statements. Two days later, Mrs. Margaret Haywood, an attorney, escorted Ms. Terrell’s group of four to meet with Washington D.C.’s lawyers at the city’s corporation counsels. As evidence, they used their notarized statements to file a complaint that accused Thompson’s Restaurant of breaking the law by not serving them. Eventually city officials contacted Ms. Terrell to inform her that Thompson’s Restaurant had indeed broken the law when they refused to serve African Americans. However, they would need to revisit Thompson’s Restaurant to gather more evidence if they wanted to bring the case to court. Warned ahead of time, the superintendent of Thompson’s Restaurant blocked their pathway. The four were informed that only Mr. Scull, the lone caucasian, would be permitted to eat and the others must leave. This time they did not argue but simply left the premises. Once more, Ms. Terrell and her group visited the corporation counsel and claimed that Thompson’s Restaurant had broken the law.

Ms. Terrell also pressured other businesses while waiting for the Thompson Case ruling. She convinced Hecht’s Department store to desegregate its lunch counter, Kresge’s Restaurant began serving all races due to Ms. Terrell’s efforts, and Ms. Terrell integrated Murphy’s Dime.

June 8, 1953 was the day that Ms. Terrell, her lawyers, her friends, and her colleagues had been waiting on for over three years. Though the laws had been forgotten, the United States Supreme Court said that the laws remained “presently enforceable.” The next few days were filled with celebration. During a telephone call to a reporter from the Afro American newspaper, Ms. Terrell said she and her committee had tried to remain “hopeful and patient, praying for a favorable decision.” After three years of trying to remain “hopeful and patient,” Ms. Terrell could finally rest. The next day, newspapers exploded with information on the outcome of the case. The Afro American headline the following day read: “EAT ANYWHERE: High Court Opens D.C. Restaurants. ” Ms. Terrell was flooded with telegrams, congratulating her on her victory.

Following the Thompson Decision, all restaurants in Washington D.C. had four days to officially desegregate their restaurants and open their properties to the entire public. Four days after the ruling, two days after the police began enforcing, Ms. Terrell and the original group that had been refused service met at Thompson’s Restaurant. It was the moment Ms. Terrell had been dreaming about for the past three years. Reporters flocked to the windows, people stared at Ms. Terrell and her group, as at last, Ms. Terrell was finally able to enjoy her bowl of soup.

Ms. Terrell decided after her Thompson success, her next endeavor would be to end segregated movie theaters. On her birthday, she and her coordinating committee went to several movie theaters. All of the movie theaters peacefully obliged, not wanting another Thompson like case on their hands. All of Washington D.C.’s movie theaters were integrated within a few weeks. At her 90th birthday luncheon, Ms. Terrell called the campaign for non-segregated movie theaters “the shortest and pleasantest of my career."

A few months after the Thompson decision, the Brown v. Board of Education decision ruled unanimously that segregating children in public schools [was] unconstitutional. Ms. Terrell was a huge supporter of integrating schools, and regularly commented “I shall be happiest the day our schools are integrated.” Both cases contributed to ending segregation in Washington D.C., and in the entire United States.

After Ms. Terrell’s death in 1954, there was still much work to be done; but as one of the first human rights activists, Ms. Terrell set an example for many other activists to come. Through peaceful protests, pickets, and events, she exemplified how to stand up for basic human rights and freedom. Ms. Terrell showed the country the importance of equality for all regardless of their race or gender.

“I have done this, not because I want to tell the world how smart I am, but because both a sense of justice and a regard for truth prompt me to show what a colored woman can achieve in spite of the difficulties by which race prejudice blocks her path if she fits herself to do a certain thing, works with all her might and main to do it and is given a chance.” Mary Church Terrell