Fannie Jackson Coppin was born in slavery but rose to a position of prominence in the field of education. After her aunt purchased her freedom, Ms. Coppin went on to become the second African American woman to receive a degree from Oberlin College which was located in Oberlin Ohio.
It is certainly no surprise that Dr. Coppin is best known for her advocacy for female higher education as well as for being a foreign missionary.
In 1865 she graduated with a bachelor’s degree and shortly thereafter was appointed principal of the women’s department of the Institute for Colored Youth; a high school established by Quakers in 1837 and later principal of the entire school. In 1894 Coppin founded the Women’s Exchange and Girls Home.
Dr. Coppin served as president of the local Women’s Mite Missionary Society and as vice president of the National Association of Colored Women.
As an active member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church Dr. Coppin served as president of the AME Home Missionary Society and accompanied her husband, Levi, J. Coppin on a missionary venture to South Africa where they ministered to and served the community within their area of influence.
Before her death, Coppin began writing an autobiography Reminiscences of School Life, and Hints on Teaching. In 1899, the Fannie Jackson Coppin Club was named in her honor for community oriented African American Women in Alameda County. This club played an important role in the California suffrage movement.
