6 Brainy, Beautiful Black Women Who Graduated From Harvard

L–R: Michelle Obama, Yara Shahidi, Tatyana Ali, Tyra Banks. Source: Kevin Winter / Getty Images, Cindy Ord / Getty Images, Cindy Ord / Getty Images for ESSENCE, Alexander Tamargo / Getty Images for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. Art Design: Siobhan Dixon.

The ability to attain a quality education continues to be a struggle for many Black people in America. Whether it is due to financial hardships, a failing curriculum that aims to remove any knowledge of “critical race theory,” or changing societal values that prioritize entertainment and sports, according to Nelson Mandela, “education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Today, January 30, marks the birthday of Richard Theodore Greener, Harvard University’s first Black graduate. Born in Philadelphia in 1844, he moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, with his parents at age nine. Two years later his father abandoned the family to chase the California Gold Rush and Greener was forced to drop out of school at just 11 to help support the household.

His various jobs exposed him to some of Boston’s Harvard-connected elites including a jeweler named Augustus Batchelder who “was itching to see the educational experiment of a black student succeeding at Andover carried on to Harvard.” Batchelder decided to fund Greener’s education and in 1865 the Ivy League university admitted the 21-year-old student.

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Source: Heritage Images / Getty

As the only Black student at Harvard, Greener lived in College House then considered the “poor and struggling” housing. Suffice it to say, he was an obvious outsider among the blue-blooded white student body who he said spread vicious rumors about him, including “that I had escaped from slavery.”

Despite these adversities, he participated in extracurricular activities and excelled academically throughout his studies. Greener graduated with honors and a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1870.

The rest of his impressive career was filled with many more firsts such as him becoming the first Black professor at the University of South Carolina where he taught metaphysics, Latin, Greek, and constitutional history.

He even rivaled renowned abolitionist Frederick Douglass with the two powerhouses facing off in a public debate over the future of Black leadership and politics in 1883. Unlike Douglass, who implored Black activists to work with “the system,” Greener advocated for a more independent approach that did not rely on white allies.

In 1922 Greener died at age 78, after settling with family on the South Side of Chicago, incidentally the perfect segue to the first lady—no pun intended—on our list.

Harvard Law School graduates take part in the Black Commencement, a university-wide ceremony for Black students, designed to celebrate their unique struggles and achievements. Source: Boston Globe / Getty

Since Greener, plenty of notable Blacks have graduated from the elite institution, which has grappled with its historical ties to and legacy of slavery in recent years. W.E.B. Du Bois, Barack Obama, Cornel West, Courtney B. Vance, John Legend, and Hill Harper all call Harvard their alum mater.

But here at MadameNoire, we specialize in showing love to the sisters. So, here’s a list of six famous Black females who graduated from the iconic Ivy League university.

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