A Democrat, Fauset became the first Black woman to serve in a state house of representatives within the U.S. Born in Princess Anne, MD, in 1894, she served as the field secretary for the YWCA and later began a speaking career as a member of the Interracial Section of the American Friends Service Committee.

Her involvement with the organization Colored Women's Activities for the Democratic National Committee led to her being urged to run for state legislature. Fauset died in 1965.