IV 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 696 
Expressing support for the designation of September 23, 2023, as ‘‘Mary 
Church Terrell Day’’, and calling on Congress to recognize Mary Church 
Terrell’s lasting contributions to the civil rights and women’s rights 
movements. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 18, 2023 
Ms. NORTON submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Oversight and Accountability 
RESOLUTION 
Expressing support for the designation of September 23, 
2023, as ‘‘Mary Church Terrell Day’’, and calling on 
Congress to recognize Mary Church Terrell’s lasting con-
tributions to the civil rights and women’s rights move-
ments. 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell was born on September 23, 
1863, in Memphis, Tennessee, to former enslaved per-
sons; 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell’s father, Robert Reed Church, 
was a successful businessman and one of the South’s first 
African-American millionaires; 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell attended the Antioch College 
laboratory school and Oberlin College; 
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•HRES 696 IH 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell was one of the first African- 
American women to attend college; 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell’s belief in the importance of 
education led her to the District of Columbia in 1887; 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell taught at M Street Colored 
High School, now known as Paul Laurence Dunbar High 
School; 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell was the first African-American 
woman to be appointed to a school board; 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell believed that the end to racial 
discrimination could be achieved through education, 
work, and community activism; 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell’s activism was sparked by the 
lynching of an old friend, Thomas Moss, in 1892; 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell used her position to fight ra-
cial and gender discrimination; 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell participated in antilynching 
campaigns alongside Ida B. Wells-Barnett; 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell led the fight to desegregate 
eating places in the District of Columbia; 
Whereas District of Columbia laws of 1872 and 1873 re-
quired all restaurants ‘‘to serve any respectable, well-be-
haved person regardless of color’’; 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell was age 86 at the time she 
launched the campaign to enforce these civil rights laws; 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell and several colleagues entered 
Thompson Restaurant in the District of Columbia on 
February 28, 1950; 
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•HRES 696 IH 
Whereas the group was refused service on the basis of their 
race; 
Whereas John R. Thompson Co., Inc., was prosecuted for 
violating these laws; 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell continued her fight through 
boycotts, picketing, and sit-ins at restaurants around the 
District of Columbia; 
Whereas, on June 8, 1953, three years after the information 
charging the restaurant was filed, the Supreme Court in 
District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co., Inc., held 
these laws were enforceable; 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell also actively fought for wom-
en’s suffrage; 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell was president of the National 
Association of Colored Women; 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell was one of the founders and 
charter members of the National Association for the Ad-
vancement of Colored People; 
Whereas Mary Church Terrell persuaded the National Asso-
ciation of University Women to admit Black members; 
Whereas the Mary Church Terrell House is a National His-
toric Landmark located at 326 T Street, N.W., in the 
District of Columbia, and is open to the public; and 
Whereas September 23 would be an appropriate day to des-
ignate as Mary Church Terrell Day: Now, therefore, be 
it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) supports the designation of ‘‘Mary Church 
Terrell Day’’; and 
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•HRES 696 IH 
(2) calls on Congress to recognize Mary Church 
Terrell’s lasting contributions to the civil rights and 
women’s rights movements. 
Æ 
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