Essay On Mary Shadd Cary

I chose Mary Ann Shadd Cary because I greatly admire her intelligence, education, passion for justice, and her great accomplishments. She stood out to me because I was interested in her high level of education- something uncommon at the time. Something about her that I also commend is her strong dedication to teaching and educating younger students on abolition.

Mary Ann Shadd Cary was heavily involved in both the abolitionist movement and the Underground railroad. The abolitionist movement originated in New York and Massachusetts, officially beginning around the year of 1830. The purpose of abolitionism was to fight for emancipation of all enslaved people. The movement was originally run by primarily white, religious Americans, but a

She was born to Abraham Doras Shadd and Harriet Burton Parnell, two black aboltionists. She was the eldest of their 13 children. Her parents were free, and strongly supported the abolitionist movement. As she grew up, her and her siblings would actively assist their parents in helping freedom seekers. Ten years after her birth, Delaware passed a law banning black children froom attending school, promting her family to move to Pennsylvania, a free state. She attended an informal grade school, where she was taught by local quakers. As an adult, she would graduate with the first class of Howard University Law school, becoming one of the first black women to become a lawyer. She served as a teacher for almost all of her adult life, even founding her own

She grew up in a home that was very supportive and involved in the movement, her parents important figures in their local abolitionist community. Her and her siblings followed in their footsteps- helping out in any way they could. Their home had even been a stop on the Underground Railroad, where they frequently housed and supported escaped slaves. She learned how important action was, her parents' teachings inspiring the ideals of her most famous quote, “It is better to wear out than rust out.” This shows how much her family taught her to value action. When Mary Ann and her family moved to Deleware when she was ten, her and her family would face continuous discrimination and segregation, which only made Mary Ann more invested in fighting for justice for African Americans. When she settled in Canada in 1851, she would attend the first North American Convention of Colored Freemen. The stories and teachings of the fellow attendants would encourage her to take a teaching job, leading her to open her own school for black children, teaching them about the abolitionist movement and how to support it using education. After the passing of the Fugitive Slave Law, she began to realize America was no longer a safe place for her. Becuase of this, she moved to Canada, and ended up writing and encouraging more Black Americans to move to