Born in Rolland Township, Michigan, Merze Tate worked hard to become the first African American graduate of Western Michigan’s Teachers College (Western Michigan University), as well as the first African American woman to attend the University of Oxford in England. Tate passed in 1996, but her legacy is still inspiring women, like Sonya Hollins, with her accomplishments.
The Kalamazoo native founded the Merze Tate Explorers in 2008, a nonprofit that uses exploration and journalism to prepare girls with the skills they might need in their future careers, such as critical thinking and communication. Over a dozen girls auditioned at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum Saturday for one of the 12 coveted spots for the season.
Hollins was first inspired by Tate when she was working as a journalist for the Kalamazoo Gazette. A Western Michigan University alum, she came across Tate’s archived scrapbooks on campus.
“I went to the archives and was like, “Oh my gosh, there are pictures of her around the world.” There are pictures of her with students, taking them to Washington, DC and Niagara Falls during the Depression Era. And like, “Why do I not know who this woman is?” said Hollins. “And there were letters to her from Mary McLeod Bethune, John Hope Franklin, Benjamin O Davis, who was the first black general.”…