Mary Church was born on September 26, 1863 in Memphis, Tennessee. Her father, a self-educated former slave, became a millionaire investing in real estate. She received a Bachelor's degree in 1884 from Oberlin College. In 1887, she moved to Washington, D.C. to teach at the M Street High School. After receiving a Master's degree from Oberlin in 1888, she toured Europe to study languages.

In 1892, she founded the Colored Woman’s League of Washington, D.C., one of the first black women’s clubs. The League started a training program and a kindergarten before these were incorporated in the Washington public school system.

Here's Mary Church Terrell's account of the state of "colored" children. She delivered this address before the National American Women's Suffrage Association at the Columbia Theater, Washington, D.C., February 18, 1898.