Nannie Helen Burroughs

Nannie Helen Burroughs grew up in Washington, D.C., where despite graduating with honours she was denied a teaching position because of prejudice over her darker skin — an injustice that hardened her resolve to build institutions controlled entirely by Black women themselves.

In 1900, at the National Baptist Convention, Burroughs delivered a rousing speech, "How the Sisters Are Hindered from Helping," that led to the founding of the Woman's Convention, which she led for decades. Nine years later, in 1909, she opened the National Training School for Women and Girls in Washington, D.C., insisting on a curriculum combining academics with practical trade skills — Burroughs believed firmly in what she called the "three B's": the Bible, the bath, and the broom, representing spiritual grounding, self-respect, and practical work.

Burroughs ran the school for over fifty years, largely self-funded through the Black Baptist community, at a time when few institutions of any kind would educate Black women. She was also an outspoken civil rights advocate, campaigning against lynching and for women's suffrage, and remained a vocal critic of both racism and internal colourism within Black communities throughout her life.