Mary T. Washington

Mary T. Washington was the first African-American woman to be a certified public accountant in the United States.[1] Mary Thelma Morrison was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi on April 21, 1906, to Daisy and William Morrison.[2] Her father was a carpenter, and her mother passed when she was only 6 years old.[3] Following her mother’s death, Washington was raised by her grandparents in Chicago. She excelled as a math student at Wendell Phillips High School.[3] She earned her bachelor's degree in business from Northwestern University in 1941.[4] During college, she worked at Chicago's Douglas National Bank.[3] After graduation, she moved into a new position at Binga State Bank, one of the city's prominent black-owned businesses in the 1920s.[3]

In 1939 she founded Washington, Pittman & McKeever, an accounting and management consulting firm providing businesses and individuals with audit, accounting, tax and advisory services.[5] Through her time at the firm, she trained a generation of younger black CPAs.[3]

Her marriage to Seymour Washington ended in divorce. She later married Donald Melvin Wylie.[2] She had a daughter named Barbara with Seymour, and a son named Donald Wylie Jr with Donald.[3] In addition, Mary and Donald adopted other children.[3]

Washington died July 2, 2005 at age 99, in Chicago. She was survived by her 5 children and her grandchildren.[2] The Illinois CPA Society and the CPA Endowment Fund of Illinois established the Mary T. Washington Wylie Opportunity Fund in her name to support diversity in the accounting profession.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Hammond, T. A. (2002). A white-collar profession: African American certified public accountants since 1921. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
  2. 1 2 3 Koppel, Lily (2005-07-25). "Mary T. Washington, First Black Woman to Earn C.P.A. Credential, Is Dead at 99". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-02-02.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Washington, Mary T." Contemporary Black Biography, Encyclopedia.com. 2005.
  4. ↑ "A History of Determination". Journal of Accountancy. 2005-10-01. Retrieved 2017-02-06.
  5. ↑ "Washington, Pittman & McKeever, LLC". www.wpmck.com. Retrieved 2018-02-11.
  6. ↑ "Mary T. Washington Wylie Internship Preparation Program". www.icpas.org. Retrieved 2018-02-11.


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