 She attended primary school at Nannie Burroughs' School for Girls in Washington, D.C.In 1920, she graduated from the college preparatory school, Spelman Seminary (now Spelman College) in Atlanta, Georgia.She continued her education at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, graduating in 1926 with bachelor's degrees in music and liberal arts, making her the first black student to earn a music degree from Oberlin.