Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
Mrs. Ida Smith Grayson was a prominent Black activist in York, Pennsylvania’s African American community around the turn of the 20th century. Though small in stature — barely five feet tall — she carried a fiery spirit and unwavering resolve. One of her most significant accomplishments was establishing and organizing the “Colored Branch of the American Red Cross” during World War I. However, her leadership and activism were met with systemic racism.
According to a Dec. 02, 1918 Philadelphia Inquirer article, Mrs. Grayson and other Black women arrived in their Red Cross uniforms at a Pennsylvania Red Cross meeting, expecting to be seated on the first floor as promised. Instead, they were relegated to the balcony. “Humiliated and indignant,” they walked out before the meeting even began, refusing to be disrespected. Their actions sent a clear message: dignity would not be compromised, even in the face of racial exclusion.
Her family has long-shared stories of Mrs. Grayson’s courage. One particularly powerful memory comes from her son, who recounted a visit to Virginia as a boy in the 1920s when Senator Harry Byrd, a staunch segregationist, was speaking. Byrd, much like some politicians today, attempted to whitewash history, declaring how much Black people loved him. In the middle of his speech, Mrs. Grayson stormed down the aisle, pointing her finger and shouting, “You lie!” The next thing he knew, his father quickly picked up his mother and hurried the family back to Pennsylvania for her safety.
Mrs. Grayson’s influence extended far beyond these singular acts of defiance. She owned a boarding home called the Charlotte Hotel, which was listed in the Green Book as a safe spot in York, Pa., for Black travelers during Jim Crow. She is a founder of the Emergency Girls Club — a…
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