Home History Remembering a Kentucky pioneer in race and gender equality

Remembering a Kentucky pioneer in race and gender equality

by The 100 Companies

Dr. Mary Ellen Britton, born in Lexington in 1866, broke barriers of which her enslaved mother could have only dreamed.

Britton became a teacher and member of the State Association of Colored Teachers. She frequently spoke and wrote on issues of race and gender equality. She addressed a variety of issues including women’s suffrage, segregation in train coaches and Jim Crow Laws.

Driven by the disparity in healthcare for African Americans, Britton became the first licensed Black female doctor in Lexington in 1902. She saw patients in her home until 1923 and continued fighting for civil rights until her death in 1925.

– Rebecca Hastings, The Kentucky 100

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