1848-1929: Maritcha Lyons

Maritcha and Pauline Lyons This dual ambrotype photograph of Maritcha Lyons and her sister Pauline was taken while the family still lived in New York City. After the violent Draft Riots of 1863 destroyed the family home and property, the Lyons ended up in Providence, where Maritcha testified before the General Assembly to gain access to the public high school, leading to the desegregation of the Providence public school system in 1866. Date: 1860

A Young African-American Girl Helped Desegregate the Providence Public Schools in 1866

Maritcha Lyons was an African-American teacher, writer, and activist who testified before the General Assembly as a 16-year-old girl to desegregate the Providence Public School System. In 1869, she was the first African-American to graduate from Providence High School.

Lyons was born in New York City in 1848. During the New York City Draft Riots of 1863, Black people, homes and businesses were targeted and attacked, including Maritcha's family. The Lyons fled the city, ultimately resettling in Providence. Her father made and sold ice cream and other frozen desserts and her mother was a hairdresser. They lived at 16 B Street, two doors down from the celebrated painter Edward Mitchell Bannister and his wife, Christina Bannister, also a successful hairdresser and activist. The Providence public school system was segregated at the time, and there was no high school for students of color. Black community leaders like George T. Downing had petitioned for equal access to the city's schools for years, but the requests did not gain traction until the end of the Civil War. Because of her testimony, Maritcha became the first African-American graduate of Providence High School in 1869. She went on to become a civic leader, educator, writer, and activist in Brooklyn, New York. Lyons supported African-American anti-lynching activist and journalist Ida B. Wells and co-founded the White Rose Mission in Brooklyn, New York, an organization that offered support to Black immigrants from the South and West Indies.

Maritcha Lyons died in Brooklyn in 1929.

Images

Maritcha and Pauline Lyons This dual ambrotype photograph of Maritcha Lyons and her sister Pauline was taken while the family still lived in New York City. After the violent Draft Riots of 1863 destroyed the family home and property, the Lyons ended up in Providence, where Maritcha testified before the General Assembly to gain access to the public high school, leading to the desegregation of the Providence public school system in 1866. Date: 1860

Maritcha Lyons Maritcha Lyons became a writer, educator, and activist. She supported Ida B. Wells in her anti-lynching campaign and provided resources and refuge for immigrants from the Caribbean and American South. This photograph was taken in 1900 when she was in her early 50s and living in Brooklyn, New York. Date: 1900

Albro and Mary Lyons This dual ambrotype photograph of Albro and Mary Lyons, the parents of Maritcha Lyons, was taken c. 1860, when the family was living in New York City. After the violence of the 1863 Draft Riots forced the family to flee New York, they settled in Providence, where Albro made ice cream and other desserts and Mary was a hairdresser. They became politically and socially active in Providence. Date: 1860

Albro Lyons & Co. Business Card Albro and Mary Lyons ran a business near Five Points and the Seaport in Lower Manhattan that catered to sailors. The business was targeted during the 1863 Draft Riots, leading to their departure to Providence. Date: c. 1860

Plat Map of Albro and Mary Lyons Neighborhood Albro and Mary Lyons and their children lived at 16 B Street during much of their time in Providence, indicated by the lower red star. The upper red star indicates where famed tonalist painter Edward Mitchell Bannister and his wife Christiana, also a hairdresser like Mary, lived just a few doors up toward Cranston Street. Today, this area is the Codding Court community. Date: 1875

The Old High School The Providence city high school that Maritcha Lyons attended, and from where she was the first African-American graduate, was located on Benefit Street at the corner of Waterman Street. Today, the location is an open space known as RISD Beach. A new high school was built on the west side in 1878. The building on Benefit became the state normal school, a teacher's college, and eventually a court house. Date: c. 1900

Location

98-2 A Street - Near, the Former 16 B Street, Providence, RI.

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Metadata

Citation Info

Taylor M. Polites, “1848-1929: Maritcha Lyons,” Rhode Tour, accessed November 18, 2024, https://rhodetour.org/items/show/373.

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