Maritcha Remond Lyons

Maritcha Remond Lyons
Maritcha Remond Lyons
Born	(1848-06-23)June 23, 1848 New York City, New York, United States
Died	January 28, 1929(1929-01-28) (aged 80) Brooklyn, New York, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	American educator Civic leader Writer
Years active	1892-1929
Notable work	Maritcha : A Remarkable Nineteenth-Century Girl

Maritcha Remond Lyons (May 23, 1848 – January 28, 1929) was an American educator, civic leader, feminist, and writer in New York City and Brooklyn, New York. She taught in public schools in Brooklyn for 48 years, and was the second black woman to serve in their system as an assistant principal, eventually becoming a principal. Lyons was a co-founder of the White Rose Mission in Manhattan's San Juan Hill district, which provided support to American migrants from the South and immigrants from the West Indies.

Lyons was born in New York City, the third of five children of Albro Lyons, Sr. and Mary Joseph Lyons (née Marshall). Her father was a graduate of the first African Free School in Manhattan, New York. The Lyons family lived in New York City's free black community and were, at one time, residents of Seneca Village. Lyons' parents operated a seamen's home and seamen's outfitting store that served also as a cover for the family's Underground Railroad activities. Though she was very ill as a child, Maritcha was eager to acquire an education. She wrote of herself that she developed a "love of study for study’s sake." Lyons attended Manhattan's Colored School No. 3, under the direction of Charles Reason, a former educator at Philadelphia's Institute for Colored Youth.

The Lyons' home was attacked several times during the New York City Draft Riots of July 1863. Lyons was a teenager at the time. She fled with her family to Salem, Massachusetts for a short time before returning to Brooklyn. Because of the ongoing danger, her parents sent the children to Providence, Rhode Island.

In 1865, Lyons was refused entry to the high school in Providence because she was African-American. The state had no high school for black children. The family successfully sued the state of Rhode Island in a campaign to bring an end to segregated schools. At the age of 16, she testified before the state legislature, "plead[ing] for the opening of the door of opportunity". Lyons later became the first African-American student to graduate from Providence High School.