Virginia E. Walker Broughton


Virginia E. Broughton was an African-American author and Baptist missionary. One of four students in the first class at Fisk College in 1867, she later became a recognized religious scholar, writing articles for the National Baptist Union newspaper and National Baptist Magazine. As a prominent member of the Baptist church and National Corresponding Secretary of the National Baptist Convention, she worked to ensure that the issues of African-American religious women were addressed by the governing body of the denomination. Broughton was licensed as a missionary and subsequently commissioned to the mission field. Her teaching, writing and preaching were popular among women and men alike.

Personal background

Virginia Walker was born into slavery on March 1, 1856, in Nashville, Tennessee to Nelson and Eliza Walker. Her father's master permitted him to hire out and work for fees, and to save some of his pay in order to earn enough money to buy his family's freedom. After obtaining freedom, Nelson Walker read the law with an established firm and became an attorney; he was known as the first African-American man admitted to the state bar in Davidson County, Tennessee.
Beginning in 1867, Broughton was one of the first four students to attend Fisk College and its Normal Institute, dedicated to teacher training. In 1875, Broughton graduated with honors and gained her teaching credentials. In 1878, she earned a Masters degree in teaching, also from Fisk.
Broughton, and America W. Robinson were the first four students to enroll at Fisk in 1867 when it opened. Broughton, James Dallas Burrus, and his brother John Houston Burrus were the first African Americans to graduate from a liberal arts college south of the Mason-Dixon line. Institute in Memphis. Her position with the Institute was the official start of her missionary work. In August 1902, at the Woman's State Convention of Tennessee, Walker was elected to serve as the National Corresponding Secretary for the National Baptist Convention.
Walker married Julius A. O. Broughton Sr. and together, they had five children: Elizabeth, Emma, Selina, Virginia, and Julius, Jr.
Broughton developed diabetes later in life. She died on September 21, 1934 from complications of the disease. Her husband had died on December 4, 1930 from a stroke.

Published works