Jeannette Carter (1886–1964) was an American lawyer, labor organizer, and suffragist. She was the first African-American woman in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, to be a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

Biography

Carter was born in 1886 in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

. She attended

Howard University School of Law Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the oldes ...

from 1908 through 1912. Carter started her practice in the

area, working as a pension and claim attorney. She was appointed a notary public, becoming the first African-American woman in

to be a

. Around the turn of the century Carter was an organizer of the

Niagara Movement The Niagara Movement (NM) was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group of activists—many of whom were among the vanguard of African-American lawyers in the United States—led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. ...

. Carter was involved in a variety of advocacy roles. She was part of the African-American women's club movement. In 1917 Carter along with

Mary Church Terrell Mary Church Terrell (born Mary Eliza Church; September 23, 1863 – July 24, 1954) was one of the first African-American women to earn a college degree, and became known as a national activist for civil rights and suffrage. She taught in the Lati ...

and Julia F. Coleman formed the "Women's Wage Earner's Association" (WWEA) which advocated specifically for African-American women workers. In 1918 she served as president of the WWEA. She went on to be appointed as the director of the "Colored Bureau of Industrial Housing and Transportation" which fell under the auspices of the United States Department of Labor (DOL). Carter joined the lobby called "National Colored Women's Legislative Bureau" in 1921. In 1923 Carter founded the "Women's Republican National Political Study Club" and through that organization she established the magazine the ''Political Recorder'' and then the ''Women's Voice''. Carter died in 1964.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Jeannette 1886 births 1964 deaths African-American suffragists American suffragists American lawyers Howard University alumni People from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women