Charlotte Ray (1/13/1850) was born in New York City to the editor of Colored American. After teaching at Howard University, she was accepted to Howard's Law College as "C.E. Ray." Charlotte was the first African American woman to be admitted to the bar in the District of Columbia.
Due to the prejudices of the time, she was unable to sustain an active law practice in the nation's capital, and returned to teaching in New York City. Devoted to the cause of equal rights for women, Charlotte became an active in the National Association of Colored Women and the National Women's Suffrage Association. Charlotte died of bronchitis on January 4, 1911.