Jennie Davis Porter

Jennie Daivis Porter was born in 1876 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her father was an undertaker and her mother was a school teacher. In 1893, Davis graduated from Hughes High School then located in the West End. She then followed in her mother’s footsteps to become a teacher. She was very involved in the community. She worked at a kindergarten for African American students and later became a teacher at Douglass School in Walnut Hills. In 1914 Jennie Davis Porter, recognizing the need for segregated schools where African American students could be free from racism, pushed Cincinnati Public Schools to establish Harriet Beecher Stowe School for African American students in Cincinnati’s West End where she became principal. In 1918, Jennie Davis Porter enrolled at the University of Cincinnati. After facing many years of prejudice, Porter received her bachelor's degree in 1923 and then a few years later in 1925, received her masters degree. Three years later, she left her mark on the University of Cincinnati by becoming the first African American woman to earn a Doctorate. This stop is located at the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services, which was named just College of Education at the time of Porter's graduation. Though it has an expanded name today, the college is still in the same location where Jennie Davis Porter once attended classes.