Otelia Cromwell is the first African-American graduate of Smith College

Smith College

Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...

. The college later began the tradition of canceling afternoon and evening classes in her honor every November as a venue to talk about race and diversity.

Cromwell went on to become an educator, teaching in a public school in Washington D.C.  She eventually earned a master's degree

Master's degree

A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...

 from Columbia University

Columbia University

Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...

 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, then went to Yale University

Yale University

Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...

 in New Haven, Connecticut

New Haven, Connecticut

New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...

 and received her Ph.D in 1926. In doing, so she was the first African-American woman to receive a Yale degree.

Cromwell went on to became a professor at Miner Teachers College, later heading the literature

Literature

Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...

 department. She wrote a variety of books and articles, including a biography

Biography

A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...

 of Lucretia Mott

Lucretia Mott

Lucretia Coffin Mott was an American Quaker, abolitionist, social reformer, and proponent of women's rights.- Early life and education:...

. Cromwell retired in 1944.

A private high school in Washington D.C., Cromwell Academy, was named in honor of Otelia and her brother John by its founder, Ruby Woodson. Founded in 1972 to provide college preparatory education to high potential students of all social and economic backgrounds, the academy opened its doors in the educational annex of Peoples Congregational Church. The school closed its doors in 1985.