Born January 13, 1850 in New York City, Ray’s, Reverend Charles Bennett Ray was an abolitionist and one of the owners and editor of the Colored American, a newspaper which targeted the free slave community. Charles Ray was a pastor at the Bethesda Congregational Church.

Ray herself attended the Institution for the Education of Colored Youth in Washington, D.C. as it was the only school allowing African-American girls to attend.

Attending Howard University

In 1869 she became both a teacher and a student at Howard University. Howard University was established to provide education for freed slaves and their descendants. However, even Howard University continued the practice of not allowing women to enroll in their law program.