Born: 26 September 1903, United States (assumed)
Died: 1974
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Grace Lonergan
The following is republished with permission from the Boston Women’s Heritage Trail.
Grace Lonergan was a teacher in the Boston public schools who became president of the Boston Teachers Union. She also was the first teacher to appeal the rule that teachers must resign if they got married. Grace married, Lee Lorch, just before he entered active service in World War II. She lost her appeal to keep her job but brought the issue to the public’s attention. Consequently, in 1953 the rule was discontinued. Lee and Grace were active in the civil rights movement in the 1940s and 1950s. When they lived in New York City, the Lorches invited an African American family to live with them, which gave rise to a controversy that resulted in Lee losing his job as a professor. Later, the Lorches moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, and joined the local branch of the NAACP. Grace aided black student Elizabeth Eckford on the first day of desegregation at Central High School. Because of their activism, the Lorches were threatened and harassed. At one point, Grace was subpoenaed by the Senate Subcommittee on Internal Security. Eventually, the couple moved with their daughter to Canada where Grace died in 1974.