Daisy Myers
{{short description|African-American woman (1925–2011)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Daisy Myers
| image = William and Daisy Myers (sq cropped).jpg
| alt =
| caption = Daisy Myers in 1957
| birth_name = Daisy Hockett
| birth_date = {{birth date|1925|2|10}}
| birth_place = Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2011|12|5|1925|2|10}}
| death_place = York, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| resting_place = Susquehanna Memorial Gardens
York, Pennsylvania, U.S.
| other_names =
| occupation =
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}
Daisy D. Myers (February 10, 1925 – December 5, 2011) was an African-American woman who lived with her family in Levittown, Pennsylvania, 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 of the North".{{Cite web|last=Parker|first=Randy|title=Attorney who represented Daisy Myers family in Levittown civil rights case dead at 99|url=https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2019/01/11/attorney-samuel-snipes-daisy-myers-levittown-civil-rights-case-dies-racial-discrimination-housing/2548207002/|access-date=March 27, 2021|website=York Daily Record|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Integrating Levittown 1957|url=https://www.nosue.org/civil-rights/integrating-levittown-1957/|url-status=live|access-date=March 27, 2021|publisher=Justice Network|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412090421/http://www.nosue.org/civil-rights/integrating-levittown-1957/ |archive-date=April 12, 2016 }}
Early life and education
Daisy Hockett was born in Richmond, Virginia, on February 10, 1925, to Alma and William Lester Hockett, and raised there by the Dailey family. Myers achieved master's degrees in education and guidance counseling,{{Cite web|title=Daisy Myers Obituary (2011) |work= York Daily Record|url=https://www.legacy.com/amp/obituaries/york/154941095|url-status=live|access-date=March 27, 2021|via=Legacy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210623222915/https://www.legacy.com/amp/obituaries/york/154941095 |archive-date=June 23, 2021 }} and became a school principal. She met husband William Edward Myers, Jr., an electrical engineer, while they were both students at the Hampton Institute.
Levittown
File:William and Daisy Myers.jpg
In mid-1957, the Myerses decided to move with their three children to Levittown, Pennsylvania.{{Cite news|title=The Real-Life Racial Battle That Inspired George Clooney's 'Suburbicon'|language=en|work=The Hollywood Reporter|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/suburbicon-real-life-racial-battle-inspired-george-clooneys-film-1034430|access-date=January 30, 2018}} 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.{{Cite web|title=Not Even Past: Social Vulnerability and the Legacy of Redlining|url=https://dsl.richmond.edu/socialvulnerability/|url-status=live|access-date=March 27, 2021|publisher=University of Richmond|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922002143/http://dsl.richmond.edu/socialvulnerability/ |archive-date=September 22, 2020 }} The Myerses had been systematically turned away by the real-estate development Levitt organization (whose owner, William Levitt, 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.{{Cite web|last=Jonas|first=Jerry|date=August 12, 2017|title=60 years later, the Levittown shame that still lingers|url=https://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/article/20170812/lifestyle/308129956|access-date=March 27, 2021|website=Bucks County Courier Times}}
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 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.{{Cite web|date=December 20, 2017|title=Little Known Black History Fact: William And Daisy Myers|url=https://woldcnews.com/1607709/little-known-black-history-fact-william-and-daisy-myers/|access-date=March 27, 2021|website=WOL-AM 1450 AM & 95.9 FM}} 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 Bristol Township Police failed to enforce this. Crowds continued to meet, with riots continuing for two weeks after the order until Pennsylvania 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, and the family later moved to York, Pennsylvania. 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 the Bristol Township Municipal Building, which was affectionately called "Miss Daisy" (the tree was later toppled by high winds in January 2017, with the township planting a replacement in the same place). She retired from the York City School District after thirty years of employment and was a district assistant for Congressman William F. Goodling. Among the organizations that Myers was involved with were Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, the Crispus Attucks AARP Group, and Golden UU's; she was also once part of the local YWCA board.
Daisy Myers died on December 5, 2011, in York. She was buried in Susquehanna Memorial Gardens in York. The 2017 film Suburbicon, starring Matt Damon and directed by George Clooney, was inspired by the couple.
See also
References
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Category:20th-century African-American women
Category:African-American history of Pennsylvania