After the war, when she was eight years old, she won a scholarship to Saint Augustine's Normal School and Collegiate Institute, which was established in Raleigh to educate former slaves by training them as teachers for other former slaves. Anna attended the school for fourteen years and excelled in her studies. Eventually, though, she had to make a decision: remain on the women's path or fight for her right to continue in academic courses that were reserved for men. She chose the latter.
Anna eventually taught at Saint Augustine's before attending Oberlin College in Ohio. When she wasn't studying or teaching, she was working for civil and women's rights. She gave many speeches but she is best known for her book, "A Voice from the South." In it, she advocated for education as well as social advancement for African American women. The book is considered one of the most influential works of black feminism in the 19th century.
Even with the publication of the book and her numerous speaking engagements, Anna continued her education. In 1924 she finished the coursework for her Ph.D and became the fourth African American woman to earn a Doctorate of Philosophy.
In DC she is known for starting and running the first all black public high school, which today is called Dunbar High School. She defied the all white, all male school board that wanted her school to offer only vocational courses. Instead, she taught literature, advanced mathematics and languages. Her pursuit of an education and her directing a school in segregated DC demonstrated that African Americans could succeed outside of the world whites attempted impose on blacks.
Anna died in 1964 at the age of 105 in Washington, DC. In her lifetime, she experienced slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, both World Wars and the Civil Rights Movement.
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