Migration and Immigration: People

Dr. Melnea Cass, distinguished in 1977 as a "Grand Bostonian," was a devoted advocate for the city's most vulnerable residents. Among her many efforts, Cass helped achieve legal protections for low-wage migrant workers and proved the potency of Black women's activism.

Alexander Lemmon was an Irish immigrant who joined the Continental Army in 1775, fought in the attack of Quebec and survived the Siege of 1777. Although not many details of his life are known, the personal descriptions in his story go to show the humanity of all the forgotten soldiers of the American Revolution.

Chien-Shiung Wu is a pioneer and pivotal figure in the history of physics. An immigrant to the United States from China, she did important work for the Manhattan Project and in experimental physics. Her crucial contribution to particle physics was, however, ignored by the Nobel Prize committee when it awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Madison Grant was a key figure in the history of the National Park Service. He supported environmental conservation and worked to protect plant and animal species like redwood trees and the American bison. But he is also remembered for his support of eugenics. His 1916 book The Passing of the Great Race spread racist ideas that Grant claimed were scientific. Policymakers used Grant's ideas to restrict immigration and to control people's ability to have children.

Ethel C. Mackenzie was a white suffragist from California. In 1909, she married a Scottish national. Under a 1907 law called the Expatriation Act, women lost their American citizenship if they married non-American men. In 1915, Mackenzie challenged the constitutionality of the law.

There are many legends about Mary Fields, an African American pioneer in late 19th century Montana. These myths have been exaggerated in the century since her death, yet oral and written accounts describe her as one of the toughest, most resilient residents of Cascade, Montana. Learn more about her story here!

Revolutionary War soldier Jacob Hadley served in the Continental Army at the 1775 siege of Boston. His grandson, Daniel Dunbar Brockway, headed west to the Great Lakes for his own adventures.

Sir William Johnson began life as a poor Irish immigrant and ended it as British Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Mohawk Valley. As a representative of the King, he influenced Native American policies across the continent.

Emmett Louis Till (1941-1955) was a 14-year-old from Chicago who was kidnapped and lynched while on summer vacation visiting relatives near Money, Mississippi. His brutal murder sparked outrage and marked a pivotal moment in the Modern Civil Rights Movement. His violent death spurred the activism of his mother Mrs. Mamie Till-Mobley, but also other prominent civil rights figures, including Rosa Parks and John Lewis.

Mamie Till-Mobley (1921-2003) was the mother of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old from Chicago who was kidnapped and lynched while on summer vacation in Mississippi in 1955. Her decision to allow the world to see images of her son’s mutilated body served as a catalyst for the modern civil rights movement. As a result of the tragedy, she became an important civil rights activist and teacher.