Georgiana Rose Simpson recognised that bias impoverishes society. She pursued her ambitions to receive a doctorate, standing amid a maelstrom of systemic racism, all so others could benefit from her knowledge and talents. No black woman had attempted this before. And so Georgiana had to stick with her dream against terrifying odds. Inadvertently, she empowered women and black people, inspiring them to pursue careers in science and feel valued members of the intellectual community of the marginalised. Georgiana’s strong sense of purpose underscored her belief that science and knowledge were for all people. This is the story of the struggles one philologist faced, the sense of belonging she created for women and black people, and the community that rose up in her name in defiance of the bias that impoverishes society…
The Fight for a Right to Learn
March 31st, 1865. Georgiana Rose Simpson was born in Washington DC. She was the eldest daughter of David and Catherine. She trained at the District of Columbia Normal School, which prepared her to teach in the elementary schools in the city.
Georgiana was greatly encouraged by her former instructors.
She became interested in German language and culture after working with German immigrant children. And so, in 1907, Georgiana left Washington behind to pursue a bachelor’s degree at the University of Chicago.
By this point, she was a 41-year-old high school teacher, but, interested in pursuing her love of German culture, she set her sights on university. She knew she would face bias, but she stood amid a maelstrom of systemic racism.
Almost immediately, she faced discrimination. Although racism was always a part of her academic career. She knew it would be tough but what was about to happen was far worse than she could have imagined.
Georgiana was determined. She believed that bias impoverishes society. That the contributions of women and black people in the sciences was crucial to share knowledge and make women and black people feel valued members of the scientific and intellectual communities.
Her fierce determination to succeed was born out of a desire to foster a sense of belonging, a perhaps utopic vision amid the horrific racist abuse she endured.
Georgiana studied the German language but also French. She also took courses in Latin, Greek and mathematics. She chose to live in Green Hall, then a women’s dormitory, but several white southern female students protested Georgiana being allowed to live in their dorm. They didn’t want a black woman living with them.
Georgiana’s time at the university could often be desperately lonely, but she didn’t let the stares and the comments get to her.
She had no choice. For the ideals she believed in, that intellectual community for all people, she had to stand firm. But it was never easy for her to do so.
All Georgiana wanted was to study. But the white students were most insistent. Georgiana is not welcome here. At this point in time, no black woman had ever received a doctorate before in America and it was easy for Georgiana to see why.
The white students asked Sophonisba Breckinridge, the renowned social reformer and then-secretary to Marion Talbot, who held the position ‘Dean of Women’, to force Georgiana out…
Another Fight to Learn and the Degrees of No Surrender
You might wonder why a renowned social reformer would force Georgiana out. Yes, she wondered that, too. The white, female southern students expected a white woman, Sophonisba, to take their side. But she didn’t.
She refused. Leading to the white students leaving the dormitory. It was so humiliating for Georgiana. And the university didn’t stand by her side. The then-president of the university overruled Sophonisba, outraged that the Dean of Women didn’t side with the white students.
The president forced Georgiana out. The incident sparked a public outcry and a response from many advocacy groups, condemning the president’s decision. Simply put, the University of Chicago looked real bad.
Novelist and activist Celia Parker Woolley wrote to the president urging him to reverse his decision, labelling it ‘deplorable’. Georgiana remained a student, however. To avoid interaction with the white students, and any possible hostility she may have faced, Georgiana took summer courses. As did many black students. She even took many of her courses via correspondence to limit her time on campus.
And you know what? In 1911, Georgiana graduated.
Despite all the shit she had to put up with, Georgiana landed her bachelor’s degree in German language and literature.
The university’s next president, Ernest DeWitt Burton, integrated the university’s dormitories shortly after he took office in 1923.
But Georgiana was not done, yet. She wanted more! She returned to Washington DC to teach at M Street School. And in 1915, she pursued her master’s and doctorate, studying German Romanticism and philology. Yes, Georgiana returned to Chicago.
They thought, ‘Yes, she’s gone!’ But nope. She was back. And she was in residency on campus during the Chicago Race Riots of 1919, in which 38 people died and between 1,000 and 2,000 black people lost their homes.
Georgiana’s presence at the university, however, continued to cause great controversy. In 1920, the president of the university ordered Georgiana off campus. The very same man who gave the order earlier.
His successor was still three years away.
So let’s get this straight. Georgiana went to Chicago to earn her bachelor’s degree. And she did. Facing deplorable racism along the way. Then she returned home. Only to go BACK to Chicago a few years later to earn her master’s and doctorate. Only to face yet MORE racism from the crusty old president.
None of this felt even remotely fair. But, once more, Georgiana was determined to study at the university. Damn the president to hell. She was 54 by this point. Her story sparked a huge national debate over the treatment of black American students and how universities should accommodate them.
Thank God that debate ended racism.
Georgiana could see that things were escalating rapidly. Her situation at the university only got worse and so, reluctantly, she had to leave the campus. But she continued to study, whenever and however she could.
She was determined that no president or any amount of racism could keep her from her master’s and doctorate.
You’ll never guess what happened next…
The Legacy of a Determination to Succeed
Despite the challenges she faced, Georgiana received her master’s and doctorate in 1921. A photograph of her featured in the September 1921 issue of The Crisis, the NAACP’s magazine, in which Georgiana is wearing her doctoral robes.
In fact, in her life, she earned three degrees from the University of Chicago, which has got to be the most spectacular middle finger to a then-racist institution I’ve ever encountered. She became the first black woman to receive a PhD in America, followed a few weeks later by two other black, female scholars.
Following her triumph, she returned to teaching at her high school in Washington DC. Despite her achievements, many institutions barred her from employment. But through teaching, she was able to reinvest in the communities that had contributed to her own successes.
Georgiana became something of a celebrity and an iconic figure for many young black people in America. There is no doubt she inspired future generations to pursue the opportunities she fought to pursue.
The respect she garnered following her graduation eventually led to Howard University offering her a professorship in 1931 at the age of 65. You can only imagine the look on the face of the former president of the University of Chicago when Georgiana became a professor at Howard.
Georgiana remained a member of the faculty until 1939 when she retired. She died in 1944 at her home in Washington DC at the age of 78 or 79.
Her story inspired University of Chicago students Asya Akça and Shae Omonijo, who unveiled a bust of Georgiana in 2017. Just over a century after her death, faculty and students at the University of Chicago celebrated the life of Georgiana and reflected on the progress that has been made and the systemic barriers that women and black people continue to face. And in 2022, students Marla Anderson and Dayo Adeoye founded the Georgiana Rose Organisation, to honour her and help foster the advancement of black women at the university.
Georgiana had to fight so hard to earn her degrees. I wonder what she would make of the bust. Pride? Probably. And perhaps for this modest soul a touch of embarrassment…
The Injustices of the First Black Doctorate
Georgiana Rose Simpson recognised that bias impoverishes society. She pursued her ambitions to secure a doctorate, but she stood amid a maelstrom of systemic racism. Yet she knew that in doing so, others would benefit from her knowledge and talents.
More than this, in taking her stand and refusing to quit the University of Chicago, she inspired countless others to pursue careers in science and feel a valued member of the intellectual community of the marginalised.
She became the first black American woman to receive a PhD, followed by Sadie Tanner Mossell (the first black woman to receive a PhD in economics), and Eva Beatrice Dykes (the first black woman to receive a doctoral degree). All three women managed this feat in the same year, but we know beyond any doubt that Georgiana was the first.
But she had to do it the hard way. No black woman achieved what Georgiana did before she came along. It took someone as resilient as her to see it through.
That’s not to say it wasn’t hard for her. Some days were crushingly dark. But she felt as though she didn’t have a choice. That she had to stick with her dream against those terrifying odds. Her strong sense of purpose underscored her belief that science and knowledge were for all people.
Regardless of the colour of your skin.
Her story serves as a reminder of the struggles women and black people endured in pursuing a career in the sciences and other academic fields, and the struggles many women and black people face to this day as they continue to battle prejudice. Still, progress, no matter how incremental, is still progress.
What Georgiana showed is that the pursuit of knowledge and what it can give to the communities of our world are ideals which, in their purest form, create a sense of belonging. That by creating opportunities for women and black people, we can help to rid the world of the biases that impoverish our societies. It was her perseverance that gave her an opportunity but her understanding of knowledge that gave others their opportunities.
Georgiana Rose Simpson believed in this intellectual community and the potential power it holds to improve our world for all people. And that is why she is so inspirational.
Associate Professor Adam Green, a scholar of black American history, once said:
“We should celebrate not only her accomplishment, but her resilience and her self-belief. Because in a community that by today’s standards would be seen as unwelcoming, and perhaps even hostile, she persevered.”
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https://mylordkatie.wordpress.com/2022/02/08/black-history-month-part-2/
Post Sources
https://www.thedrop303.org/black-history-month/drop-of-black-history-black-history-month/drop-of-black-history-georgiana-rose-simpson/, https://search.alexanderstreet.com/view/work/bibliographic_entity%7Cbibliographic_details%7C4078805/biographical-sketch-georgia-rose-simpson, https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/simpson-georgiana-1866-1944/, https://dh.howard.edu/pp_asalh/113/, https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/collex/exhibits/integrating-life-mind/future-intellectuals-georgiana-simpson-ab-1911-phd-1921/, https://news.uchicago.edu/story/100-years-ago-georgiana-simpson-made-history-first-black-woman-graduate-phd, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgiana_Simpson
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