Susan Elizabeth Frazier

Susan Elizabeth Frazier was born on May 29, 1864 in New York City, to Helen Eldridge Frazier and Louis M. Frazier. She attended public schools as a child, and Hunter College afterwards. When she entered the college, it was called the Female Normal and High School, and was a women's college focused on training teachers. During her time there, the minimum admission age was raised to 14 years old, and the length of study went from three to four years. She graduated in 1888. == Career ==

Teaching After graduating, Frazier became a substitute teacher at P.S. 80 in New York City, teaching under a probationary license. Once she had substituted for the required number of hours, she applied to be placed on the eligible list of regular teachers in the city's school system, which schools would pull from to choose permanent teachers. She was the first African American woman to be placed on the list. Due to racial discrimination, she was not contacted by any school to become a regular teacher for several years. She is quoted as saying at the time, "There are colored teachers in the schools of Brooklyn, Jersey City, Boston and other cities, and I think it time that the color line was obliterated in appointing a teacher in New York City." So she took her case to the courts, which initially rejected her plea in 1895. She faced pushback from other teachers and school officials, but continued to teach until her death in 1924. Frazier was among 15 New York City public school teachers who won a contest promoted in the spring of 1919 by the Evening Telegram. The contest, based on votes from the public, identified the most popular teachers and sent them to the very recently silenced battlefields of Europe. They left for Europe on November 10, 1919 on the SS Royal George, receiving a leave of absence from their teaching positions. Frazier served as president of the Woman's Loyal Union in New York CIty. She taught Sunday School for a long time and was president of the Church Missionary Society. == Personal life and death ==

Frazier was the great-granddaughter of African American Revolutionary War Veteran Andrew Frazier. She was a member of St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Harlem, New York City. This was very unusual for African American women at the time. A memorial was held at St. Philip's, and on June 21, 1925, the church unveiled a tablet, placed by other teachers, in Frazier's honor. ==Citations==