[6] In 1865, she accepted a position at Philadelphia's Institute for Colored Youth (now Cheyney University of Pennsylvania). Fanny Jackson Coppin, née Fanny Marion Jackson, (born 1837, Washington, D.C., U.S.—died Jan. 21, 1913, Philadelphia, Pa.), American educator and missionary whose innovations as head principal of the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia included a practice-teaching system and an elaborate industrial-training department. She became a student at Oberlin College in Ohio in 1860. Today, our featured Black Educator is Fanny J. Coppin. Coppin, born in 1837 under the name Fanny Marion Jackson, had a zeal for education at a young age. It was a custom in Oberlin that forty students from the junior and senior classes were employed to teach the preparatory classes. In her senior year, she organized evening classes to teach freedmen. On October 15, 2020, the University announced a campaign to raise funds to erect a monument in her name by October 15, 2021. She served as the principal of the Ladies Department and taught Greek, Latin, and Mathematics. Coppin was founded in 1900 at what was then called Colored High School (later named Douglass High School) on Pennsylvania Avenue by the Baltimore City School Board who … Fannie Jackson spent the rest of her youth in New Bedford, Massachusetts working as a servant for author George Henry Calvert, studying at every opportunity. She made them become more than they ever thought they could. Born a slave in the nation’s capital, the child Fanny was purchased by an aunt. In 1939, the name was changed to Coppin Teachers College, eventually becoming Coppin State University in 2004. Fanny Jackson Coppin, one of the most influential Black educators and community leaders of the late nineteenth century. Many of the women involved in the club were active in the California suffrage movement. In her last years, she completed her autobiography, Reminiscences of School Life, which remains a record of a remarkable life. During her teenage years, she worked as a servant in the home of the author George Henry Calvert. She retired in 1902 and began missionary work with her husband, L. J. Coppin, who was a bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Fanny Jackson Coppin (January 8, 1837 – January 21, 1913) was an American educator, missionary and a lifelong advocate for female higher education. I, indeed, was more anxious, for I had always heard that my race was good in the languages, but stumbled when they came to mathematics. Within four years, she became head principal, from which position she influenced two generations of young people. During her time there, she was elected to the Young Ladies Literary Soci… The club played an important role in community outreach to voters before and after the passage of Proposition 4 in 1911 which granted women in California the right to vote. In 1899, the Fannie Jackson Coppin Club was named in her honor for community oriented African American women in Alameda County. Coppin has embarked on a campaign to fund the establishment of a life-size statue of our namesake, Fanny Jackson Coppin. Bio: Fanny Jackson Coppin was an African-American educator and missionary and a lifelong advocate for female higher education. All went smoothly until I was in the junior year in College. She gained her freedom when her aunt was able to purchase her at the age of twelve. When Fanny turned 14 she took on a job. Fanny Jackson Coppin (1837-1913, OC 1865) was an educator and missionary. In 1926, a Baltimore, Maryland teacher training school was named the Fanny Jackson Coppin Normal School in her memory. In 1881, she married Rev. [4], Jackson Coppin was the first black teacher at the Oberlin Academy It was rough. Fanny Jackson Coppin on Wikipedia Suggest an edit or a new quote During a period when discussions of women's education in the larger society embraced "ornamental" and "female" education, Fanny Jackson Coppin took the "gentleman's course" (the collegiate degree) at Oberlin College in 1865. She was the first black person chosen to be a pupil-teacher there. Throughout her youth, she used her earnings from her servant work to hire a tutor who guided her studies for three hours a week. She believed in liberating her people, and she was a trailblazer in her field. Fanny Jackson Coppin was born a slave on January 8, 1837, and at age 12, she escaped slavery when her aunt decided to purchase her freedom with the hopes that Fanny could do something worthwhile with her life. I felt that, should I fail, it would be ascribed to the fact that I was colored. Fortunately for my training at the normal school, and my own dear love of teaching, tho there was a little surprise on the faces of some when they came into the class, and saw the teacher, there were no signs of rebellion. Name … But enslaved she would not remain. Fannie Jackson Coppin died on January 21, 1913. Fanny Jackson Coppin was born 1837 in Washington, D.C., and died Jan. 21, 1913, in Philadelphia. Her aunt purchased Fanny’s freedom for $125. Coppin was born a slave but was bought by an aunt while still a child. Fanny Marion Jackson was born in October 1837 in Washington, D.C. into slavery. She spent her free time studying. Born a slave in Washington, D.C., her freedom was purchased by an aunt as a child. Fanny Jackson Coppin Teacher, principal, lecturer, missionary to Africa, and warrior against the most cruel oppression, Fanny Jackson Coppin conquered overwhelming obstacles and became the beacon by which future generations would set their courses. Initially enrolling for the "ladies' course", Coppin switched to the more rigorous "gentlemen's course" the following year. As the Civil War raged on, she was thinking about how every triumph or failure in her education was a reflection on her entire race. At one time, when I had quite a signal triumph in Greek, the Professor of Greek concluded to visit the class in mathematics and see how we were getting along. Fanny Jackson Coppin Hettie Blonde Tilghman, member of the Fannie Fanny Jackson Coppin was born on January 8, 1837, in Washington, D.C. She was enslaved from birth. Remembering Philadelphia Black educator, innovator and missionary, Fanny Jackson Coppin. Jackson Coppin's Reminiscences of a School Life and Hints on Teaching - a combination of autobiography and an account of her teaching and administration at the ICY - was published in 1913. She was one of the fortunate slaves at the time as her aunt bought her freedom when she was only twelve. Eventually she moved to Newport, Rhode Island, as a domestic servant. Fanny Jacksonwas born on January 8, 1837, in Washington D. C. She was a slave during her entire childhood. Very little is known about Coppin’s early life except that her aunt purchased her freedom at the age of 12. View the latest campus news & information surrounding COVID-19. She accompanied her husband, now a bishop, to Cape Town, South Africa, where she was an effective missionary, counseling African women. Fanny Jackson Coppin is the namesake for Coppin State University. [1][2], Born into slavery, Fannie Jackson's freedom was purchased by her aunt at age 12. The Fannie Jackson Coppin Club, also known as the Fanny Jackson Coppin Club, was a club for politically active African American women located in Alameda County, California. [4] She wrote about this experience in her autobiography: "The faculty did not forbid a woman to take the gentleman's course, but they did not advise it. Once given the opportunity to attend school, she quickly demonstrated her insatiable desire for being educated and educating others. Fanny Jackson Coppin was born at about the time when slavery was at its peak. We recently announced the dedication of a life-size, bronze monument of our namesake, Fanny Jackson Coppin. She was born on January 8, 1837, as a slave. The Fanny Jackson Coppin Monument. Fanny Jackson Coppin (January 8, 1837 – January 21, 1913) was an American educator, missionary and a lifelong advocate for female higher education. During her years as principal, she was promoted by the board of education to superintendent. To illustrate her point on Black economic independence, Jackson organized an effort to save The Christian Recorder from bankruptcy in 1879. This club played an important role in the California suffrage movement. Coppin, Fanny Jackson (1837–1913) American teacher and missionary who became the first black woman in the U.S. to head an institution of higher learning. Do you find this information helpful? All Rights Reserved. The monument will be erected in a prominent location on the campus on October 15, 2021. Religious Leaders of America, 2nd edition, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1999. In 1926, a Baltimore teacher training school was named the Fanny Jackson Coppin Normal School (now Coppin State University).[8]. It is now Coppin State University. Join us and become part of history as we honor her legacy. Fanny Jackson Coppin was born a slave in Washington, D.C., she gained her freedom, graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio, and founded the Philadelphia Institute that was the forerunner of Cheyney State University. The class went on increasing in numbers until it had to be divided, and I was given both divisions. Francis (Fanny) M. Jackson Coppin was born enslaved in Washington D.C. in 1837. Another aunt took the little girl in, but Fanny had to go out and work as a domestic, getting schooling whenever she could. Coppin, Fannie Marion Jackson (1837-1913) African-American educator and missionary Jackson was born into slavery in Washington, D.C., but her freedom was purchased by an aunt. Moreover, she persuaded employers to hire her pupils in capacities that would utilize their education. An aunt purchased her freedom when she was a girl, and she worked as a domestic servant while going to school. She made them dream. In 1926, the Baltimore Normal Department of the Colored High and Training School were permitted to change their name to Fanny Jackson Coppin Normal School. In her 37 years at the Institute, Fanny Jackson was responsible for vast educational improvements in Philadelphia. Frances (Fanny) Marion Jackson Coppin was, indeed, a model of academic excellence—both in her life and in the heritage that she has bequeathed to those who followed. Fanny Jackson-Coppin spent 37 years as an educator, a well-respected principal and a leader in educational advancements. She was one of the first vice presidents of the National Association of Colored Women, an early advocacy organization for black women founded by Rosetta Douglas.[9]. Born into slavery, Coppin was the first Black woman to become a school principal and was driven by a need to spread education to newly freed slaves. Fanny Jackson Coppin (January 8, 1837 – January 21, 1913) was an American educator and missionary and a lifelong advocate for female higher education. The Institute for Colored Youth, through a series of events, became Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. Perkins, Linda M., Fanny Jackson Coppin and the Institute for Colored Youth, 1865-1902, Garland Publishing (New York, NY), 1987. “It was in me,” she wrote years later, “to get an education and to teach my people. As it was now time for the juniors to begin their work, the Faculty informed me that it was their purpose to give me a class, but I was to distinctly understand that if the pupils rebelled against my teaching, they did not intend to force it. Fanny Jackson Coppin was a pioneer, educator and a missionary. She … She supported herself at age fourteen, while excelling in school; first at Rhode Island Normal School, then at Oberlin College. 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