Mary Ann Shadd: What you need to know about the first black female newspaper editor in North America 

Mary Ann Shadd: What you need to know about the first black female newspaper editor in North America 

By Ekene Agbor

Google is celebrating the 197 year birthday anniversary of Mary Ann Shadd Cary, the American-Canadian newspaper editor and publisher, journalist, teacher, lawyer, abolitionist and suffragist today October 9.

Shadd Cary was born on October 9 in 1823 in Wilmington, Delaware to two dedicated abolitionists, anti-slavery advocates who used  as station in underground Railroad to provide shelter for escaped slaves.

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Afta Shad Cary’s graduation from boarding school and work as teacher, she became the first black female newspaper editor and publisher in North America and the second black woman to earn a law degree in the United States.

She launched her newspaper, The Provincial Freeman, a weekly publication that focuses on escaped slaves. In 1853, her family moved to Canada after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.

In 1883, Shadd Cary completed her law degree from Howard University after she got married and returned to the United States.

Owing to her contribution to the society and history, Canadian government honoured her in 1994 as Personality of National Historic Significance.