Grace and Erminie Shimm both became teachers in the segregated schools of Washington, D.C.[REF] Grace also served as an organist at church functions, and wrote poetry for publication [REF].
In 1902 she addressed the Negro Young People's Christian and Educational Congress in Atlanta, with a speech titled "The Public School Teacher and the Religious Forces," in which she declared, "The teacher's calling is no light vocation."[REF]