By: Bre Anne Briskey, Bicentennial Graduate Assistant
Carrie Parker Taylor was the first African American woman to enroll at Indiana University. However, her story was largely unknown until Dina Kellams, Director of the IU Libraries University Archives, happened upon her name in 2015. Taylor’s legacy of being the first African American female student at IU laid the groundwork for future Black students, such as Frances Marshall, to attend the university and attain a higher education.
Early Life and Education
Carrie Parker Taylor was born on December 9, 1878 in Enfield, NC to Richard and Martha Parker.[1] Taylor’s mother, who could read and “loved the idea of schooling,” persuaded Taylor’s father to move to the north so that their children would have the opportunity to attend school.
The family moved to Clinton, IN in January 1880, when Taylor was just over a year old. Two months later, however, tragedy struck when her mother died in childbirth. While Taylor’s father wanted to move back home, his mother-in-law, who had traveled with the family, convinced him to stay.[2]
Although the family moved to North for greater opportunities, nonetheless they faced discrimination. When Taylor finished middle school, the school’s principal flunked her several times since he had his own policy that no African American children would pass into high school.
When Taylor stood for her exams the third time, the citizens of the town were on her side and told the school not to interfere with her graduation; the school acquiesced and she finally passed.[3] On January 18, 1897, the superintendent of Cayuga Public School, Oscar B. Zell, wrote to IU President Joseph Swain about “a young colored girl, Miss Carrie Parker, at Clinton, who wants to attend the University.”[4]
Taylor graduated from Clinton High School in June 1897, making her the first African American woman to graduate from a Vermillion county school. When asked about her future plans, Taylor explained that after attending college, she intended to become a missionary in Africa.[5]
Taylor matriculated to Indiana University on January 4, 1898. Several days later the Logansport Pharos Tribune wrote:
“The first colored girl to enter Indiana university in its history has registered in the person of Miss Carrie Parker. She comes from Clinton and hopes to take a complete course. Miss Parker is 19 years old. She is a graduate of the Clinton schools. She is compelled to work to pay her expenses while in college and has entered the family of Professor Griffith. There were six colored men entered as students in the institution last term.”[6]
Unfortunately, not much is known regarding Taylor’s time at IU. She attended the Winter, Spring and Fall 1898 sessions. To pay for school, Taylor lived with a faculty member, Elmer E. Griffith, and his wife and worked for them. However, Griffith and his wife heaped insane amounts of work on Taylor and reflected that “I was trying to work my way though and almost killed myself in the attempt.”[7]
After a year of schoolwork, housework, and trying to keep out of the hands of the good professor, Taylor decided she needed a break from her studies; in February 1899, the Indiana Recorder attributed Taylor’s discontinuation of her studies, “on account of nervous trouble. She hopes to resume work again at the beginning of the spring term.”[8]
Later Life
Unfortunately, Taylor never returned to finish her studies at IU. She married John G. Taylor in March 1899, much to the surprise of her friends.[9] While Taylor’s husband promised her that he would pay for her to go back to finish her education at IU, he did not do so. Taylor implored her husband to let her go back but he did not relent; in her memoir Taylor recollected that “every year I’d cry to go back.”[10]
The couple lived in the Midwest where they had six children. After nearly 35 years of marriage, Taylor’s husband passed away in 1933. Taylor remarried four years later, in 1937, to Richard Eaton.[11] However, this marriage was unhappy; Eaton lied to Taylor about his finances and he died in 1943.[12]
Taylor died on March 2, 1958, in Kalamazoo, MI.[13]
Legacy
Taylor’s legacy remained largely unknown until 2015 when Dina Kellams happened on the name in a January 1898 newspaper article with the headline “First Negro Girl in Indiana University.”
Through much digging and detective work, Kellams was able to make contact with Taylor’s son, Leon, who was 99 years old at the time.
To honor Taylor’s legacy, the university created the Carrie Parker Taylor Scholarship. In addition, the university further celebrated Taylor’s place in IU’s history with the creation of two portraits: one in the Neal Marshall Black Culture Center and one in the Indiana Memorial Union as part of the Women of Indiana University Portrait Collection.[14]
Taylor’s courage and desire for higher education paved the way for future African American female students and continues to inspire scholars to this day.
Bibliography
- Briscoe, Bailey. “IU honors first female African-American student with portrait in the IMU.” 29 March 2017, News at Indiana University Bloomington, URL: https://news.iu.edu/stories/2017/03/iub/inside/29-carrie-parker-taylor-portrait.html.
- Eaton, Carrie. “Memories.” URL: https://iu.app.box.com/v/CarrieParker/file/35993810142.
- Eaton, Carrie Taylor. “Race Prejudice and Me.” URL: https://iu.app.box.com/v/CarrieParker/file/35993908490.
- Kellams, Dina. “A Previously Unknown IU Pioneer.” Blogging Hoosier History, 24 July 2015, URL: https://blogs.libraries.indiana.edu/iubarchives/2015/07/24/cparker/.
- Kellams, Dina. “An Update on ‘Miss Carrie.’” Blogging Hoosier History, 01 September 2015, URL: https://blogs.libraries.indiana.edu/iubarchives/tag/carrie-parker/.
- Kellams, Dina. “Carrie Parker.” URL: https://iu.app.box.com/v/CarrieParker/file/33965839269.
Notes
[1] Carrie Eaton, “Memories,” URL: https://iu.app.box.com/v/CarrieParker/file/35993810142.
[2] Dina Kellams, “An Update on ‘Miss Carrie,’” Blogging Hoosier History, 01 September 2015, URL: https://blogs.libraries.indiana.edu/iubarchives/tag/carrie-parker/.
[3] Dina Kellams, “An Update on ‘Miss Carrie,’” Blogging Hoosier History, 01 September 2015, URL: https://blogs.libraries.indiana.edu/iubarchives/tag/carrie-parker/.
[4] Dina Kellams, “Carrie Parker,” URL: https://iu.app.box.com/v/CarrieParker/file/33965839269.
[5] Dina Kellams, “A Previously Unknown IU Pioneer,” Blogging Hoosier History, 24 July 2015, URL: https://blogs.libraries.indiana.edu/iubarchives/2015/07/24/cparker/.
[6] Dina Kellams, “Carrie Parker,” URL: https://iu.app.box.com/v/CarrieParker/file/33965839269.
[7] Carrie Taylor Eaton, “Race Prejudice and Me,” URL: https://iu.app.box.com/v/CarrieParker/file/35993908490.
[8] Dina Kellams, “An Update on ‘Miss Carrie,’” Blogging Hoosier History, 01 September 2015, URL: https://blogs.libraries.indiana.edu/iubarchives/tag/carrie-parker/.
[9] Dina Kellams, “An Update on ‘Miss Carrie,’” Blogging Hoosier History, 01 September 2015, URL: https://blogs.libraries.indiana.edu/iubarchives/tag/carrie-parker/.
[10] Carrie Eaton, “Memories,” URL: https://iu.app.box.com/v/CarrieParker/file/35993810142.
[11] Dina Kellams, “Carrie Parker,” URL: https://iu.app.box.com/v/CarrieParker/file/33965839269.
[12] Carrie Eaton, “Memories,” URL: https://iu.app.box.com/v/CarrieParker/file/35993810142.
[13] Dina Kellams, “A Previously Unknown IU Pioneer,” Blogging Hoosier History, 24 July 2015, URL: https://blogs.libraries.indiana.edu/iubarchives/2015/07/24/cparker/.
[14] Bailey Briscoe, “IU honors first female African-American student with portrait in the IMU,” 29 March 2017, News at Indiana University Bloomington, URL: https://news.iu.edu/stories/2017/03/iub/inside/29-carrie-parker-taylor-portrait.html.