Jessie Redmond Fauset

  1. Jessie Fauset was born on April 27, 1882, in Frederickville, New Jersey.
  2. Jessie’s mother died when she was young. Her mother and father emphasized education for their children.
  3. She attended Philadelphia High school for Girls, and graduated as valedictorian of her class.
  4. She was not allowed to attend Bryn Mawr College because of her race. Instead Bryn Mawr got Jessie a scholarship to Cornell.
  5. Jessie graduated from Cornell in 1905 with a degree in classical languages.
  6. After teaching at Dumbar for several years, Jessie left teaching to become the literary editor for The Crisis, founded by W.E.B. DuBois .
  7. She served in that post from 1919 to 1926.
  8. Her literary work helped sculpt African-American literature in the 1920s as she focused on portraying a true image of African-American life and history.
  9. After working at The Crisis, Jessie worked for decades as a French teacher at DeWitt Clinton High School in Bronx, New York.
  10. Jessie Redmon Fauset died April 30, 1961 at the age of 76 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.