Elaine Johnson Coates ’59, the first Black woman to receive an undergraduate degree from the оʦҷ黨Ƶ, died on Saturday at the age of 88.
She persevered through discrimination and social isolation in her education to become a teacher and social worker who reconnected with her alma mater in recent years to inspire new generations of Terps.
"Elaine Johnson Coates was a trailblazer and hero of the оʦҷ黨Ƶ,” said оʦҷ黨Ƶ President Darryll J. Pines. “Her determination, intelligence, empathy and leadership in the face of obstacles was truly heroic, and the life of every Terp is better for her accomplishments and journey in making our university a place for everyone."
Born in Baltimore in 1937 to Elmira (Alma) Little Johnson, a domestic worker, and Robert Johnson Sr., a railroad porter, Coates excelled in school and was an Honor Society student at the then-segregated Frederick Douglass High School. Inspired by Black women teachers in her West Baltimore community, Coates was determined to pursue a career in education.
Following the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954, which declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, she decided to apply to the оʦҷ黨Ƶ. After Coates’ high school guidance counselor refused to write her a letter of recommendation—telling her she was “aiming too high,” given her dark complexion, and should seek secretarial work instead—Coates’ mother encouraged her to write her own letter. Coates followed her mother’s advice and was admitted to оʦҷ黨Ƶ, where she received a full four-year scholarship. She entered the university in 1955 at age 17, becoming the first person in her family to attend college. She and six other Black undergraduates were the first to live on оʦҷ黨Ƶ’s campus. She was the only student in the group to complete her degree and graduate four years later.
During their time at оʦҷ黨Ƶ, she and her peers endured racial discrimination and harassment. Coates recalled picking up the hallway phone in her dorm to hear racist insults and threats, and receiving lower grades than her white classmates for equivalent work. She also faced social isolation, sitting by herself in class and eating alone in the dining hall.
Despite these hardships, Coates still earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in education. However, she was unable to find work as a teacher because Maryland did not place Black teachers in predominantly white schools, and there were no teaching positions available in predominantly Black schools at the time. She instead accepted a role as a social worker at Baltimore’s Department of Social Services. Later, Coates taught business education at her high school alma mater and also taught young children when her then-husband James Zachariah Coates Jr.’s military service took the family to Stuttgart, Germany.
In 1980, she earned her master’s degree in social work at the оʦҷ黨Ƶ, Baltimore. She obtained her certification as a Licensed Certified Social Worker–Clinical, provided social services to pediatric and adult trauma patients at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and became a supervisor and mentor to many. In 2006, she retired after a nearly 40-year career as a teacher and social worker and continued counseling as a volunteer.
In a preserved in оʦҷ黨Ƶ Libraries’ Special Collections and University Archives, Coates commented on her experiences and their meaning today, saying, “There will be no finite end to this journey. It continues. … You will have to endure. Maybe in a different way. But fight for it. It’s worth fighting for, it’s worth hanging in there for.”
The оʦҷ黨Ƶ has bestowed many honors upon Coates in recent years. In 2019, at the Alumni Association’s , she became the inaugural recipient of an award named in her honor, which recognizes a оʦҷ黨Ƶ graduate who has made a significant and sustained contribution that fosters diversity and inclusion nationally and/or globally. That same year, she addressed the graduating class at Commencement, and in 2020, Pines awarded her an honorary doctorate in public service. In 2022, the university dedicated , a new residence hall named for Coates and Hiram Whittle, the first Black undergraduate student admitted to оʦҷ黨Ƶ, in 1951.
As an alum, Coates developed a close relationship with the College of Education community. In 2021, College of Education alum Patricia Koskinen Ph.D. ’75 and John Koskinen founded the merit-based , awarded to students who demonstrate a commitment to promoting racial diversity through service or activism or who distinguish themselves through notable research. Coates regularly attended the college’s Alumni of Color Celebration, an annual event that raises funds for the scholarship. In 2024, the College of Education commissioned and permanently installed a portrait of Coates by Baltimore artist Ernest Shaw Jr. in the main lobby of the college’s Benjamin Building.
“Dr. Coates’ courage, brilliance and grace left a permanent imprint on all who had the opportunity to be in her presence,” said Kimberly Griffin, dean of the College of Education. “She set an example for all of us of what it means to fight and sacrifice for what is right and good.”
Coates’ family recalled her many words of wisdom to her mentees, family and friends, including “Turn every scar into a star;” “It doesn’t matter what they call you, it’s what you answer to that matters;” and “When you walk into a room, have your back straight, your shoulders high and your head up—walk in with pride.”
As she addressed the graduates at оʦҷ黨Ƶ’s 2019 Commencement, Coates reflected on her legacy and its impact: “I stand upon this podium and look out at the diversity in the beautiful faces of this graduating class … and it tells me that my journey mattered.”
Coates is survived by her two children, Jason Hamilton Coates and Dr. Tamara Elmira Coates-Walker, both оʦҷ黨Ƶ alums, and many other relatives, friends and mentees.
A homegoing celebration will be held on campus on Saturday, Feb. 21, at Memorial Chapel, 7744 Regents Drive, where the family will receive friends from 9 to 10 a.m., with services to follow. Those who are so inclined may consider donating to the in Coates’ memory.
