Coppin, Fanny Jackson

Khaula Murtadha

Fanny Jackson Coppin (1837–1913) was the first Black woman to head an institution of higher learning in the nation. Fanny Jackson Coppin held the post of principal of Philadelphia's Institute for Colored Youth (ICY) from 1869 to 1901—at the time, the highest educational appointment of a Black woman in the United States. Fanny Jackson was born into slavery in Washington, D.C., in 1837. Later in childhood, an aunt, Sarah Orr, purchased Jackson's freedom. She lived with relatives in New Bedford, Massachusetts, then moved to Newport, Rhode Island, where she worked as a domestic, paid for tutors, studied in the segregated public schools, and attended the Rhode Island State Normal School in 1859. Coppin gained admission to the Ladies Department of Oberlin College, in Ohio, in 1860. Recognized by the administration as an exceptional student by the time she progressed to the junior/senior collegiate department, she was asked to teach lowerlevel ...

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