She attended high schools in Parsons, Kansas, and Quincy, Illinois.
[2] She taught in Oswego, Kansas; the Indian Territory; and Des Moines, Iowa.
She married in 1907 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Des Moines College in 1914, then earned a law degree through distance learning facility La Salle Extension University.
She remained the only African American female lawyer in Iowa until 1950.
Rush was also an activist in the civil rights and suffrage movements, as well as an author and playwright.