Another Light on the Hill Black Students at Tufts
  • Home
  • Madeline Bernard

Madeline Bernard

Madeline Bernard Brooks J20 is believed to be the first Black women to graduate from Tufts University. She grew up in West Medford and graduated from Medford High School before enrolling at Tufts. Little is known about Brooks’ time at Tufts; she is recorded as a member of the Jackson College freshman class in the 1917 yearbook and is listed as receiving a Bachelors of Arts in Economics from Jackson in 1920, although there is no record of any extracurricular activities Brooks took part in. In 1943, she married George H. Brooks and worked as a clerk for the Department of Corporations and Taxation. By 1970, Brooks was in ill health and had moved to a nursing home in Weymouth, Massachusetts. Brooks died on June 4, 1972 in Weymouth.

Biography written and researched by Cat Rosch.

Sources:

Classes Collection, 1816 -- 2017, Classes (1) 1920 and Classes (2) 1920. UA039.001.006.00004 and UA039.001.006.00005. Tufts University. Tufts Archival Research Center. Medford, MA.