This resolution would express the House of Representatives' support for designating September 23, 2026, as "Mary Church Terrell Day" and would call on Congress to recognize Mary Church Terrell's lasting contributions to the civil rights and women's rights movements. The text lists Terrell's life and work: she was born September 23, 1863; her parents had been enslaved; her father was businessman Robert Reed Church; she attended Antioch College's lab school and Oberlin College and was one of the first African-American women to attend college. She moved to the District of Columbia in 1887, taught at M Street Colored High School, and was the first African-American woman appointed to a school board. The resolution describes her activism after the 1892 lynching of Thomas Moss, her work with Ida B. Wells-Barnett, efforts to desegregate Washington, D.C., restaurants (including the 1950 refusal of service at Thompson Restaurant and the later Supreme Court case District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co., Inc.), leadership as president of the National Association of Colored Women, role as a founder and charter member of the NAACP, and her role in persuading the National Association of University Women to admit Black members. It also notes the Mary Church Terrell House is a National Historic Landmark at 326 T Street NW.
If adopted, the House would formally support calling September 23, 2026, "Mary Church Terrell Day" and would ask Congress to recognize her contributions to civil rights and women's rights. The resolution was introduced on September 21, 2026, and referred to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The text does not describe any new programs or changes to other laws.
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Supporters point to Terrell's long record of education and public service and to specific achievements named in the resolution: her early college attendance, teaching and school-board service; her anti-lynching and civil-rights activism; leadership in organizations including the National Association of Colored Women and the NAACP; her role in desegregation efforts in the District of Columbia; and the existence of her preserved historic home. The resolution presents September 23 (her birthday) as an appropriate date for recognition.
No publicly available information.