Murda Beason & Vivian Smith

In a time when opportunity was scarce for African American women, Vivian Smith and Murda Beason opened the doors of higher education — and walked through them together.

In 1916, Beason became the first African American graduate from Iowa State Teachers College. Her cousin, Smith, was the second, graduating just six months later with a bachelor’s degree in English. 

Beason went on to teach in Buxton, Iowa, while Smith remained in Waterloo after graduating. Despite her qualifications, she could not find work as a teacher due to her race, as Black school teachers were not hired in Waterloo schools until 1952. To make ends meet, Smith worked as a house cleaner and channeled her passion into founding the Waterloo Suffragette Council, advocating for women’s rights regardless of race. 

Smith was also the officer and chairwoman for suffrage in the Iowa Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs and a member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. She was a respected violinist and singer, often performing at Iowa Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs meetings. Once hired as a teacher, Smith taught in Kamrar and Blairsburg, Iowa, as well as Illinois. 

In 2021, her story was included in a traveling exhibit honoring African American women in Iowa, titled “Toward a Universal Suffrage: African American Women in Iowa and the Vote for All.” 

Both Murda Beason and Vivian Smith are featured in the University of Northern Iowa’s Sesquicentennial Exhibit, located in the UNI Museum, Rod Library.