Mary Dunlop Maclean (
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
, Judith Herz; September 27, 1873 – July 12, 1912) was a writer, journalist, and first managing editor of ''
The Crisis
''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Mi ...
'' from 1909 until her death.
Early life
Mary Dunlop Johnson was born to white parents Harriet Darling Johnson and Samuel Otis Johnson in
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...
, September 27, 1873. Her mother, a descendant of
Revolutionary War hero
Paul Dudley Sargent
Paul Dudley Sargent (Baptized June 23, 1745, Salem, Massachusetts – September 28, 1828 Sullivan, Maine) was a privateer and soldier in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
Early life
Sargent was born in 1745 and baptized ...
and of Governor
John Winthrop
John Winthrop (January 12, 1587/88 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led t ...
, was born in
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
; her father was born in Nassau to American parents. She was sent to
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
as a teenager to complete her education.
Career
In 1907, Maclean edited a collection of
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
's letters and speeches. Soon after, Maclean volunteered as managing editor of ''The Crisis'' beginning in 1909, working with
W. E. B. DuBois as an editor, after the First National Negro Conference. She was the only woman on the magazine's initial six-person editorial board. She used her skills as a journalist to conduct interviews and report to the
NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
on a lynching in
Coatesville, Pennsylvania
Coatesville is a city in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 13,350 at the 2020 census. Coatesville is approximately 39 miles west of Philadelphia. It developed along the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike beginning ...
.
She was, simultaneously, on the Sunday staff at the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', writing features such as a report from Sicily after the
1908 Messina earthquake
The 1908 Messina earthquake (also known as the 1908 Messina and Reggio earthquake) occurred on 28 December in Sicily and Calabria, southern Italy with a moment magnitude of 7.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). The epicen ...
. She used the pseudonym "Judith Herz" for at least one article in ''The New Era'' (a profile of the Yiddish-language playwright,
Jacob Gordin
Jacob Michailovitch Gordin (Yiddish: יעקב מיכאַילאָװיטש גאָרדין; May 1, 1853 – June 11, 1909) was a Russian-born American playwright active in the early years of Yiddish theater. He is known for introducing realism and ...
).
Personal life
Maclean died from complications following surgery in 1912. She was 38 years old. The staff of ''The Crisis'' established a memorial fund in her name, used to fund publications of the NAACP.
Mary White Ovington
Mary White Ovington (April 11, 1865 – July 15, 1951) was an American suffragist, journalist, and co-founder of the NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Biography
Mary White Ovington was born April 11, 1865, ...
chaired the memorial committee.
"In Honor of Mary Dunlop Maclean"
''New York Times'' (November 10, 1912): 14. via Newspapers.com
Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites.
In November 2018, ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maclean, Mary Dunlop
1873 births
1912 deaths
American women journalists
American women writers
People from Nassau, Bahamas
Pseudonymous women writers
20th-century pseudonymous writers