Grace Lee was born in Rhode Island in 1915 to Chinese immigrant parents. She studied at Barnard College at the age of 16 and went on to attend Bryn Mawr. Her activism began in Chicago where she joined the movement for tenants' rights and then the Workers Party, a small organization that broke away from the Socialist Workers Party. In these associations Lee focused on marginalized groups such as women and people of color.
In 1953, she married black auto worker and activist James Boggs and they moved to Detroit together. In their activism, the pair saw African-Americans, women, and young people as a powerful force for change in their city. For years they were also involved with Black Power advocates across the country, most notably, Malcolm X, who would stay with them during visits to Detroit.
Eventually, she adopted Dr. King's nonviolent tactics and strived for racial and economic justice through nonconfrontational methods. As the state of Detroit declined she became a symbol of resistance. Lee Boggs founded food cooperatives and community groups to support the elderly and organized protests outside known crack houses in an attempt to combat crime. In 1992, the couple founded Detroit Summer, a community movement that brought together people of all races, cultures, and ages to take part in rebuilding Detroit. Some of their activities included planting community gardens in vacant lots, creating huge murals on buildings, and renovating houses.
Her life was guided by a philosophy of constant questioning, not just of who we are as individuals but of how we related to those in our community and country, other countries, and our environment. She believed that by working together in small groups positive social change could happen.
Grace Lee died in 2015 as one of the nation's oldest human rights activists. She spent her life waging a "war of inspiration for civil rights, labor, feminism, the environment, [and more] for seven decades."
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/06/us/grace-lee-boggs-detroit-activist-dies-at-100.html
https://www.americanswhotellthetruth.org/portraits/grace-lee-boggs
I very vaguely remember learning about Grace Lee. It think it is interesting how people can change the strategies they support to bring about rights: violent vs non-violent. I wonder what turned Grace Lee from a violent strategy to later supporting a non-violent approach.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you emphasized a woman of color in history, who are largely ignored. This post describes an important historical woman who would have gone overlooked.
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing woman! We don't learn as much about people of color who aren't black during the time of the civil rights movement, so highlighting Grace Lee is super cool. I enjoyed her story and how she changed overtime with her methods, from the more violent Malcom X ideals to the more peaceful Martin Luther King Jr. ideals, but still stayed strong and worked for human rights. Awesome post!
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