Rosa Emilia Clay, first black person to live in Finland

Rosa Emilia Clay, first black person to live in Finland, 1890s, Sortavala

Rosa Emilia Clay was born in 1875 as the illegitimate daughter of a Namibian woman and a British merchant. She was raised by British missionaries. At the age of four, she was adopted by the Finnish missionary Karl Weikkolin. Karl was known as a kind man, but his wife treated the foster daughter like a servant.

The Weikkolins returned to Finland in 1888, taking Rosa with them. They traveled around Finland having Rosa sing at religious events in order to collect money. After this Rosa received a typical middle-class education. At the age of 19 was admitted to the Sortavala Seminar to study to become a teacher. She did well in the arts and was chosen as the leader of the school choir.

In 1898 Rosa graduated as a teacher and became the first African to receive Finnish citizenship. She started working as a school teacher in a tiny rural village but was soon forced to leave because of problems with prejudiced locals. She moved to the city of Tampere, where she thrived and became a well-liked teacher.

In 1903 Rosa fell in love with a wealthy Russian doctor, and they became engaged. But the romance ended in tragedy when the man shot himself a few weeks before the wedding.

Deeply shocked, Rosa decided that she needed a change of scenery, and left for America. She lived among other Finnish immigrants, married a Finnish writer, and had two children.

She became an important member of the American Finnish socialist community and an influential figure in the cultural life of American Finns. She lead a choir, directed plays, sang, and performed at Finnish community halls. Her beautiful voice earned her the nickname “The Finnish Sarah Bernhardt”.

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