Daisy D. Myers (February 10, 1925 – December 5, 2011) was an African-American woman who lived with her family in
Levittown, Pennsylvania
Levittown is a census-designated place (CDP) and planned community in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The population was 52,983 at the 2010 census. It is above sea level. Though not a ...
, reportedly designed to be an all-white town, beginning in 1957. She faced months of harassment and violence before security forces (the Pa. state police) intervened to protect the family, leading her to be dubbed the "
Rosa Parks
Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "the ...
of the North".
Early life and education
Daisy Myers was born in
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
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, on February 10, 1925, to William Lester and Alma Hockett, and raised there by the Dailey family. Myers achieved master's degrees in education and guidance counseling,
and became a school principal. She met husband William Edward Myers, Jr., an electrical engineer, while they were both students at the
Hampton Institute
Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...
.
Levittown
![William and Daisy Myers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/William_and_Daisy_Myers.jpg)
In mid-1957, the Myerses decided to move with their three children to
Levittown, Pennsylvania
Levittown is a census-designated place (CDP) and planned community in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The population was 52,983 at the 2010 census. It is above sea level. Though not a ...
.
In the five years prior to their move, the 15,500 homes in Levittown had been sold only to white people. The Myerses moved to the Dogwood Hollow Section, living at 43 Deepgreen Lane, and were the first African-American family to move to the neighborhood.
The Myerses had been systematically turned away by the
real-estate development
Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others. R ...
Levitt organization (whose owner,
William Levitt
William Jaird Levitt (February 11, 1907 – January 28, 1994) was an American real-estate developer and housing pioneer. As president of Levitt & Sons, he is widely credited as the father of modern American suburbia. He was named one of ''Time'' ...
, was reportedly a bigot). They instead bought a property in the area being resold by a white-European Jewish couple, rather than from Levitt directly, allowing them to avoid interaction with the developers.
Levittown residents who wanted the family to leave directed increasingly violent attacks towards them over nine days, including threats, harassment, and violence
like
cross burning
In modern times, cross burning or cross lighting is a practice which is associated with the Ku Klux Klan. However, it was practiced long before the Klan's inception. Since the early 20th century, the Klan burned crosses on hillsides as a way to i ...
and damage to the Myers' property. Some of their white neighbors had to intervene, though neither state nor local authorities managed to stop the harassment.
Shortly after their arrival, a court prohibited the assembly of more than three people together in the proximity of the Myers' family home to protect them, but the town's police failed to enforce this. Crowds continued to meet, with riots continuing for two weeks after the order until state police intervened. Despite this, the Myerses continued to face harassment for nearly three months.
This led to the residents being charged and served an injunction. The Myerses and their friendly neighbors would not back down. The family received national attention and support.
After residents realized that the Myerses were going to stay, the harassment gradually stopped and the Myers family was able to more peacefully live there for four more years.
Later life
William Myers accepted a job in
Harrisburg
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...
, and the family later moved to
York, Pennsylvania
York ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populati ...
. According to Lynda Myers, Daisy and William's daughter, her parents did not dwell on the hardships faced in Levittown, and would instead praise the neighbors that helped them. William died at his home in York in 1987, at age 65.
In 2005, Myers published the autobiography ''Sticks'N Stones: The Myers Family in Levittown''. She was invited to the town for a public apology, where she planted a tree in front of Levittown city hall, which was affectionately called "Miss Daisy".
She retired from the
York City School District after thirty years of employment and was a district assistant for Congressman
William F. Goodling
William Franklin Goodling (December 5, 1927 – September 17, 2017) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. At the time of his death, he was the Chairman of the Board of the Goodling Institute for Resea ...
. Among the organizations that Myers was involved with were
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen stud ...
sorority, the Crispus Attucks AARP Group, and Golden UU's; she was also once part of the local
YWCA
The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries.
The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...
board.
Daisy Myers died on December 5, 2011, in York, at age 86.
The 2017 film ''
Suburbicon
''Suburbicon'' is a 2017 American black comedy crime film directed by George Clooney and co-written by the Coen brothers, Clooney, and Grant Heslov. It stars Matt Damon, Julianne Moore, Noah Jupe, and Oscar Isaac, and follows a mild-mannered fat ...
'', starring
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Americ ...
and directed by
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...
, was inspired by the couple.
See also
*
Redlining
In the United States, redlining is a discriminatory practice in which services (financial and otherwise) are withheld from potential customers who reside in neighborhoods classified as "hazardous" to investment; these neighborhoods have signif ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Myers, Daisy
1925 births
2011 deaths
African-American women
African-American history of Pennsylvania
People from Richmond, Virginia
People from York, Pennsylvania