[Dinner at the Myers home in Levittown]
Item
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Title
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[Dinner at the Myers home in Levittown]
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Description
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This item is a black and white photograph of William Myers (1922?-1987) and Daisy Myers (1925-2011) having dinner in their Levittown home. The couple are dressed in casual attire as William sits at the table while Daisy pours him coffee.
When Levittown was first created, the housing agreements included racist policies barring people of color from living in the community. The Myers family became the first Black family to move into the 15,000 home all-White Levittown community in Bristol Township, Bucks County. They to 43 Deepgreen Lane in Levittown in August 1957, having purchased the house from a Jewish couple.
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When the couple moved to 43 Deepgreen Lane in August 1957, it sparked immediate hostility. They were met with racial epithets, a “KKK”-style cross burning, blaring music from a rented “party house” next door, eviction petitions, and other acts aimed at blocking desegregation. The cross, placed in a neighbor’s oil-burner vent, was set ablaze with Molotov cocktails (Philadelphia Inquirer, 1957b). While some dismissed it as the work of children, Police Chief J. Stewart rejected that claim.
In mid-August, a crowd of about 250 Whites gathered outside the Myers home to protest their presence on Deepgreen Lane. Violence broke out, with rocks hurled at State Troopers and a journalist (Philadelphia Inquirer, 1957b). Despite relentless intimidation, the Myers family—backed by law enforcement and the courts—stood firm as the first Black family to integrate Levittown, Bucks County which became a national symbol for fair housing.
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Rights
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This material is subject to copyright law and is made available for private study, scholarship, and research purposes only.
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Creator
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Associated Press Wirephoto
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Spatial Coverage
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Levittown, PA
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Contributor
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Mercer Museum/Bucks County Historical Society
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Identifier
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SC-29-01-19a-P-004
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Date Created
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1957
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Coverage
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Levittown, PA
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Subject
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Race relations
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Housing
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African Americans--Segregation
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Pennsylvania--Levittown
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Photography
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Housing policy--Planning
