Josephine Silone Yates

Who was Josephine Silone Yates?

Josephine Silone Yates, trained in chemistry, was one of the first black teachers hired at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, and, upon her promotion, the first black woman to head a college science department. She may have been the first black woman to hold a full professorship at any U.S. college or university.

Yates was also significant in the African American women's club movement. She was a correspondent for the Woman's Era and wrote for other magazines as well. Yates was instrumental in establishing women’s clubs for African American women: she was the first president of the Women's League of Kansas City and the second president of the National Association of Colored Women.