Myrtle Mowbray: MSU’s first Black female graduate

Myrtle Craig Mowbray was born in Adrian, a small town in Southeastern Michigan, about 70 miles from Detroit. She was the daughter of a messenger who worked for the Secretary of State in Lansing.

Before becoming a Spartan, she attended George R. Smith College in Sedalia, Missouri, a historically Black college committed to providing higher education to African American youth. After a year of teaching at an elementary school, she returned to Lansing.

“My father worked in the capitol downtown, and I used to come up on weekends to visit him. When it came time for me to go to college, he said it was either Michigan Agricultural College or none at all, he couldn't afford anything else.”

During her first two years at MSU, Mowbray worked for her room and board by assisting the school secretary and a professor with household chores. As a junior, she relocated to Lansing and took various jobs to support herself financially. "I sold scissors for a clothing store after school and worked as a waitress catering in a club where often my pay was dinner and a dollar," she recalled.

Mowbray was one of four Black students on campus and the only Black woman. She did not participate in many social activities because she was constantly busy with her studies and work.

“I didn’t feel any different because of my race. There were sororities for girls, but I was so poor, I didn’t have the time or money for those things.”

Myrtle Mowbray pursued a degree in home economics, studying a diverse range of subjects over five years, including piano, music, art, sewing, foods, English, German, history and chemistry. She graduated in 1907 as one of 15 women in her class, receiving her diploma from none other than the US President Theodore Roosevelt, who was the commencement speaker.

Understanding the importance of education for youth, she devoted over 40 years of her life to teaching in different schools and universities in Kansas and Missouri. She was a proponent of education and strongly encouraged Black women to pursue a degree.

"I'd tell her (a young Black woman – ed.) to get as much education as possible and push for more, although remaining a bit satisfied with the way things are today. She should try to do the best she can and excel as much as she can."

Mowbray’s devotion and public service did not go unnoticed. Her legacy inspires and guides people today through the Mowbray Scholars Program at the MSU Honors College. Open to all students, the program’s mission includes supporting students of color who have shown leadership potential in enhancing cross-cultural understanding. That is what Myrtle Craig Mowbray did her whole life.

Steinway, C. (1972, November). Myrtle Mowbray, '07: MSU's first Black graduate, remembers M.A.C. Michigan State University Alumni Association Magazine, 18(2), 15. Serial 18, Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections, East Lansing, Michigan.

Dmytro Shynkaruk

Myrtle Craig Mowbray was born in Adrian, a small town in Southeastern Michigan, about 70 miles from Detroit. She was the daughter of a messenger who worked for the Secretary of State in Lansing.

“My father worked in the capitol downtown, and I used to come up on weekends to visit him. When it came time for me to go to college, he said it was either Michigan Agricultural College or none at all, he couldn't afford anything else.”

Mowbray was one of four Black students on campus and the only Black woman. She did not participate in many social activities because she was constantly busy with her studies and work.

“I didn’t feel any different because of my race. There were sororities for girls, but I was so poor, I didn’t have the time or money for those things.”