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HomeDiversity & InclusionSIPS Diversity & Inclusion Council update: Cornell’s first Black woman graduate, more Black History Month events

SIPS Diversity & Inclusion Council update: Cornell’s first Black woman graduate, more Black History Month events

1890 graduating class on steps outside stone building
Jane Eleanor Datcher, Cornell’s first Black woman graduate, stands front and center in the class photo of 1890 – a spot earned by excelling academically.
datcher portrait
Jane Eleanor Datcher, Image courtesy of the Moorland-Springarn Research Center at Howard University

A close look at a photograph of Cornell’s graduating class of 1890 reveals a milestone: In the front row, center, stands Jane Eleanor “Nellie” Datcher, the first known Black woman to earn an undergraduate degree from Cornell and the first Black woman in the U.S. to earn a degree in botany.

Datcher – who earned her spot in the photo on the Morrill Hall steps by excelling academically – went on to impact generations of Black students as a chemistry teacher at Dunbar High School, the first public high school in the U.S. for Black youth. She also participated in the founding of regional and national networks for Black women.

Cornell’s 1865 charter, radical in its day, meant that anyone who passed the entrance exams could come to Cornell, regardless of race, sex, or religion – making it one of the only universities at the time that would accept Black women.

Read more in the Cornell Chronicle

For more pictures and information about Datcher, see Ed Cobb’s post Jane Eleanor Datcher: First African-American woman to obtain an advanced degree at Cornell on the SIPS history in photos website.

The SIPS Diversity and Inclusion Council is open to anyone in the SIPS community who would like to participate in building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community in our school.  New voices, viewpoints and energy are always welcome. Read more about the efforts of our working groups. Questions? Email: sips-dicouncil@cornell.edu.

Seeds of Survival and Celebration discussion honors Black History Feb. 23, 24

The Department of Inclusion & Belonging’s Inclusive Excellence Academy invites you to take a “Break and Learn” in February by attending Honoring Black History Through Collaboration and Celebration.

The discussion (via Zoom) features three of the 14 co-creators of the Cornell Botanic Gardens Seeds of Survival and Celebration exhibit.

  • Kofi Acree, Director of the Clarke Africana Library
  • Sarah Fiorello, Interpretation Coordinator, Cornell Botanic Gardens
  • Catherine Thrasher-Carroll, Mental Health Promotion Program Director

A 2022 nominee for the “ONE Cornell” Employee Excellence Award, the “Seeds of Survival and Celebration” highlights a critical piece of American history – how enslaved Africans used their culinary skills, plants, and resilience to help shape and inspire signature dishes in a variety of regional cuisines. In this discussion, the exhibit co-creators will talk about how they collaborated to conceptualize and implement this meaningful testament to the Black community of yesterday and today.

There will be two different opportunities to attend this virtual Break and Learn session:

  • Thursday February 23rd, 12:15-1:30pm ET
  • Friday February 24th, 8:30-9:45am ET

Register here.

More Black History Month events

Diversity & Inclusion, History

If you have a disability and are having trouble accessing information on this website or need materials in an alternate format, contact web-accessibility@cornell.edu for assistance.

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