Josephine Silone Yates (1852 or November 15, 1859 – September 3, 1912) was an American professor, writer, public speaker, and activist. She trained in chemistry and became one of the first black professors hired at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri. Upon her promotion, she became the first black woman to head a college science department. She may have been the first black woman to hold a full professorship at any U.S. college or university. Yates also made significant contributions to journalism (sometimes under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Mrs. R. K. Potter) and the overall social mobility of black women. For example, she was a correspondent for the '' Woman's Era'' (the first monthly magazine published by black women in the United States). She wrote for other newspapers and magazines, as well, including Omaha, Nebraska's ''Enterprise.'' Yates was a major figure in the African-American women's club movement. She was instrumental in establishing women's clubs for African-American women because she helped found and was the first president of the Kansas City Colored Women's League (1893), and was the second president of the

National Association of Colored Women The National Association of Colored Women's Clubs (NACWC) is an American organization that was formed in July 1896 at the First Annual Convention of the National Federation of Afro-American Women in Washington, D.C., United States, by a merger of ...

(1900–04).

Early life and education

Josephine Silone's birth is given variously as 1852, and as November 15, 1859. Josephine was born to Alexander and Parthenia Reeve Silone in Mattituck, NY being their second daughter. During her childhood, her family lived with her maternal grandfather, Lymas Reeves who was recently freed from slavery in 1813.Brown, Jeannette. "Early Pioneers." In ''African American Women Chemists:'' . Oxford University Press, 2012. Oxford Scholarship Online, 2020. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780199742882.003.0006. She started school at the age of six, and was rapidly advanced by her teachers. In fact “at the age of nine, she reportedly studied physiology and physics and possessed advanced mathematical ability. Silone also advanced her writing career at the age of nine, by submitting “a story for publication to a New York weekly magazine. Though the article was rejected for publication, she received a letter of encouragement, which increased her ambition to succeed.” Josephine's uncle, Rev. John Bunyan Reeve, was the pastor of the Lombard Street Central Church in Philadelphia. At the age of 11, she went to live with him so that she could attend the

Institute for Colored Youth The Institute for Colored Youth was founded in 1837 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It became the first high school for African-Americans in the United States, although there were schools that admitted African Americans preceding it ...

. There she was mentored by its director,

Fanny Jackson Coppin Fanny Jackson Coppin (October 15, 1837 – January 21, 1913) was an American educator, missionary and lifelong advocate for female higher education. One of the first Black alumnae of Oberlin College, she served as principal of the Institute for ...

. The next year, Rev. Reeve moved to

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

, and as a result, Josephine went to live in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

with her maternal aunt, Francis I. Girard. There, she attended grammar school and later Rogers High School. Yates was the only black student at both, but was well received by her teachers due to her academic prowess. Her science teacher considered her his brightest pupil and enabled her to do additional laboratory work in chemistry. As the first black student to graduate from Rogers High School, Josephine graduated as valedictorian of the class of 1877 and received a medal for scholarship. Silone chose to attend the Rhode Island State Normal School in Providence to become a teacher, rather than pursuing a university career. She graduated in 1879, with honors, the only black student in her class. She was the first African American certified to teach in the schools of Rhode Island and later received a master's degree from the National University of Illinois.

Teaching

In 1879, Josephine Silone moved to Jefferson City, Missouri, to work as one of the first black teachers hired at Lincoln University. President Inman Edward Page considered it essential to replace the previously white faculty with black teachers, as role models for the school's African-American students. The teachers lived on campus in the dormitories with the students. Josephine taught chemistry, elocution, and English literature. Upon her promotion to head of the natural science department, she became the first black woman to head a college science department and the first black woman to hold a full professorship at any U.S. college or university. In 1886, she was offered the position of "lady-principal" at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama led by

Booker T. Washington Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and adviser to several presidents of the United States. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the dominant leader in the African-American c ...

. She declined. Josephine Silone Yates was clear about her purpose in teaching. In a 1904 essay, she wrote: "The aim of all true education is to give to body and soul all the beauty, strength, and perfection of which they are capable, to fit the individual for complete living."

Marriage and family

In 1889, Josephine Silone married William Ward Yates. Many schools prohibited married women from teaching, and upon her marriage, Josephine Silone gave up her teaching position at Lincoln. She moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where her husband was the principal of Phillips School. Her daughter Josephine Silone Yates, Jr. was born in 1890. Her son William Blyden Yates was born in 1895.

Mrs. R.K. Potter

In Kansas City, Yates became active in the African-American women's club movement. She was a correspondent for the '' Woman's Era'' (the first monthly magazine published by black women in the United States), and also wrote for the ''Southern Workman'', ''

The Voice of the Negro ''The Voice of the Negro'' was a literary periodical aimed at a national audience of African Americans which was published from 1904 to 1907. It was created in Atlanta, Georgia in June 1904 by Austin N. Jenkins, the white manager of the publishing ...

'', the ''

Indianapolis Freeman The ''Indianapolis Freeman'' (1884–1926) was the first illustrated black newspaper in the United States. Founder and owner Louis Howland, who was soon replaced by Edward Elder Cooper, published its first print edition on November 20, 1884. H ...

'', and the Kansas City ''Rising Son'', under her own name and the pseudonym "R. K. Porter". Racial uplift was one of many topics she spoke and wrote about. She was identified as an exemplar of her race and included as one of 100 of "America's greatest Negroes" in ''Twentieth Century Negro Literature; or, A Cyclopedia of Thought on the Vital Topics Relating to the American Negro'' in 1902. Her paper addressed the question "Did the American Negro make, in the nineteenth century, achievements along the lines of wealth, morality, education, etc., commensurate with his opportunities? If so, what achievements did he make?" She published poetry, including "The Isles of Peace", "The Zephyr", and "Royal To-Day".

The Women's Club movement

Josephine Silone Yates helped to found the Women's League of Kansas City, an organization for the self-help and social betterment for African-American women, and became its first president in 1893. In 1896 the Women's League joined the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), a federation of similar clubs from around the country. Silone Yates served with the NACW for four years as the treasurer or vice-president (1897 to 1901) and for four years as president (1901 to 1904). By 1911, she had helped found the first black YWCA in Kansas City. A testament to her accomplishments and acclaim is in a speech presented by

Anna Julia Cooper Anna Julia Haywood Cooper (August 10, 1858February 27, 1964) was an American author, educator, sociologist, speaker, Black liberation activist, and one of the most prominent African-American scholars in United States history. Born into slaver ...

in 1893 at the

World's Congress of Representative Women The World's Congress of Representative Women was a week-long convention for the voicing of women's concerns, held within The Woman's Building of the World's Columbian Exposition (Chicago, May 1893). At 81 meetings, organized by women from each of ...

in Chicago:

In organized efforts for self help and benevolence also our women been active. The Colored Women's League, of which I am at present corresponding secretary, has active, energetic branches in the South and West. The branch in Kansas City, with a membership of upward of one hundred and fifty, already has begun under their vigorous president, Mrs. Yates, the erection of a building for friendless girls.

Later life

In 1902, she was recalled by the president of Lincoln Institute to serve as the head of the department of English and history. In 1908 she requested to resign due to illness, but the Board of Regents did not accept, and she stayed on as the advisor to women at Lincoln. Her husband died in 1910, after which Josephine Silone Yates chose to return to Kansas City. She died on September 3, 1912, after a short illness.

References

External links

* Josephine Silone Yates {{DEFAULTSORT:Yates, Josephine Silone 1852 births 1912 deaths People from Mattituck, New York Rhode Island College alumni American women chemists Presidents of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs 19th-century American women scientists American women academics African-American academics 19th-century American chemists 19th-century American educators Scientists from New York (state) Chemists from Missouri 19th-century American women educators 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women