Melnea Cass, born in Richmond, Virginia, moved to Boston’s South End at five. After her mother’s death, she was raised by her father and Aunt Ella. She graduated as valedictorian from St. Frances de Sales Convent School in 1914. Cass initially worked as a domestic worker until her marriage in 1917. Cass’s activism began with organizing voter registration for Black women post-Nineteenth Amendment. She was involved in the Robert Gould Shaw House, the Kindergarten Mothers, and various civil rights organizations. During WWII, she co-founded Women In Community Service and, in 1949, Freedom House. Cass served as the only female charter member of Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) and led the Boston NAACP from 1962 to 1964. Cass participated in her first demonstration in 1933, urging African-American employers to hire African-American workers. Known as the “First Lady of Roxbury,” Cass dedicated her life to improving services for Boston’s black community. She was honored as Massachusetts “Mother of the Year” in 1974. In 1981, Melnea Cass Boulevard in Lower Roxbury was named in her honor.
