Stamping a New Legacy!

A historic honor has taken shape in Wilmington, Delaware, where a local U.S. Post Office has officially been renamed in tribute to Mary Ann Shadd Cary — the trailblazing abolitionist, educator, and the first Black woman publisher in North America, according to CBS Philly. The renaming marks a significant recognition of a woman whose courage and intellect helped reshape conversations around civil rights, education, and freedom in the 19th century.

Mary Ann Shadd was born in 1823 to free African American parents who were deeply rooted in abolitionist efforts, as noted by the National Park Service. Her family later moved to Pennsylvania, where they continued aiding freedom seekers through the Underground Railroad. But after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 — legislation that threatened the liberty of free African Americans by permitting their capture — Shadd and her family joined many others in relocating to Ontario, Canada.

In Canada, she married Thomas J. Cary and had two children. Shadd Cary established a racially integrated school for Black and white students, exemplifying her lifelong belief in education as a tool for liberation. She soon made publishing history: she founded The Provincial Freeman, an antislavery newspaper that advocated for self-reliance, equality, and the rights of African Americans. Her work made her the first Black woman publisher in North America and the first female newspaper publisher in Canada, a milestone widely documented by scholars and referenced by The Washington Post and the Smithsonian Magazine.

After her husband’s death in 1860 and the start of the Civil War, Shadd Cary returned to the United States. She devoted herself to recruiting Black soldiers for the Union Army — a role many historians highlight as pivotal in shifting public perception of African American patriotism and capability. Following the war, she moved to Washington, D.C., where she continued breaking barriers: she enrolled in Howard University School of Law and became the second Black woman in the United States to earn a law degree, as confirmed by Howard University archives.

Her activism never slowed. Shadd Cary taught, lectured, and wrote extensively, contributing regularly to The New National Era, a Black-owned newspaper co-founded by Frederick Douglass. She also co-founded the Colored Women’s Progressive Franchise Association, becoming a prominent voice in the women’s suffrage movement. Her work aligned with other leading suffragists such as Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and Ida B. Wells, frequently referenced in historical accounts by the National Women’s History Museum.

Mary Ann Shadd Cary passed away on June 5, 1893, but her legacy remains deeply embedded in American history. The recent dedication ceremony in Wilmington celebrated not only her achievements but her enduring influence on journalism, civil rights, women’s equality, and education.

Thank you for your service and your fearless leadership, Mrs. Cary. Because of you, we can — and we continue to rise.