Maymie de Mena facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maymie de Mena
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1925 visa photograph
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| Born |
Leonie Turpeau
December 10, 1879 |
| Died | October 23, 1953 (aged 73) Chicago, Illinois
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| Nationality | American/Nicaraguan/British |
| Other names | M. L. T. de Mena, Madame de Mena, Maymie Leona Turpeau de Mena, Maymie L. de Mena Turpeau, Maymie Turpeau de Mena, Maymie Ebimber, Maymie Aiken |
| Occupation | activist |
| Years active | 1925–53 |
| Known for | first woman officer-in-charge of the Universal Negro Improvement Association |
Maymie de Mena (born December 10, 1879 – died October 23, 1953) was an important activist. She was also known as Maymie Aiken later in her life. She became one of the highest-ranking leaders in the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA). Many people believe she helped keep the organization going after its founder, Marcus Garvey, faced legal challenges and left the United States.
Maymie de Mena was born into a Creole family in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana. She studied in the United States. Later, she married a man from Nicaragua and moved to Central America. She lived there for ten years, raising her daughter and working as a teacher. After divorcing, she returned to the U.S. and joined the UNIA.
She quickly became a leader in the UNIA. She was fluent in Spanish, which helped her work as a translator. Maymie de Mena played a big part in the pan-African movement. She helped the UNIA grow its membership in the Caribbean and Latin America. When Marcus Garvey was sent to Jamaica, Maymie de Mena became his official representative in New York. She was the first woman to hold such a high position in the UNIA.
After Garvey moved to London, Maymie de Mena remarried and became known as Madame Aiken. She then focused on helping women and children in Jamaica. She worked to get women the right to vote. She also created groups to help working-class women improve their financial situations.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Leonie Turpeau was born on December 10, 1879. She grew up on a farm near St. Martinville, Louisiana. Her parents were Isabella Hill and Michel Turpeau Jr. Her family had a mix of backgrounds, including people from Martinique and French Guiana.
Maymie was one of many children in her family. She received private education. She also studied at business colleges in New York City and Greensboro, North Carolina. Her older sisters also attended college, which was unusual for many people at that time.
During this period, many of her family members moved north. This was because of changes in society and new laws like Jim Crow laws in Louisiana. These laws made life difficult for Black people. Instead of moving north, Maymie decided to go south. She moved to Bluefields, Nicaragua, with her husband, Francisco Hiberto Mena. He was a planter and worked with newspapers.
In 1912, Maymie Leona Turpeau de Mena traveled from Bluefields to New Orleans. Her travel records showed she was visiting her sister in Louisiana. She also stated her nationality was "Nicaraguan by marriage." At this time, Bluefields was a city with strong ties to the United States. Society there had different groups of people, with white North Americans often at the top.
Changing Identities
When Maymie de Mena married Francisco Mena, U.S. law said she lost her American citizenship. She gained her husband's Nicaraguan citizenship. This rule changed later, but for a while, she was considered Nicaraguan. She even used her Nicaraguan passport to travel. Later, she married a man from Cameroon and then one from Jamaica.
Maymie de Mena was not from Nicaragua, but she understood the struggles of Afro-Latina people. This helped her connect with people during her travels for the UNIA. She often changed how she described herself. On different trips, she claimed to be African, colored, Negro, Spanish American, West Indian, or even white. She used both Nicaraguan and British passports.
Some men in the UNIA questioned her leadership because she was seen as a foreigner. The Federal Bureau of Investigation also looked into her activities. Maymie de Mena was very dedicated to improving the lives of Black people. She used her changing identity to help her political goals. Some historians believe she chose her husbands based on how they could help her cause.
Her Work and Career
In Nicaragua
Maymie de Mena said she was involved with the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) in Bluefields. The UNIA was started by Marcus Garvey in 1914. It was a movement that aimed to give Black people worldwide more power and control. It also wanted to help Black people take ownership of Africa.
Maymie's husband was part of the Union Club, which was a group for Creole leaders. He also worked with a local English newspaper. These connections helped Maymie learn about political organizing. In 1913, she listed her job as a nurse. Later, she was a housewife. In 1919, she ran a school where she taught English, French, and other business skills. In 1922, Maymie de Mena returned to the United States with her daughter. She was divorced and settled near her family in Chicago.
In the United States
When Maymie de Mena returned to the U.S., the UNIA was holding a big meeting in Harlem. The UNIA was mostly led by men. Women were expected to be wives and mothers. However, women in the UNIA started asking for more leadership roles. By 1929, many delegates at UNIA meetings were women. Maymie de Mena, as a single mother, showed that women could be strong leaders.
Soon after this, Marcus Garvey faced legal challenges. He was accused of issues related to the Black Star Line, a shipping company. He was sent to prison but later released.
Maymie de Mena joined the UNIA in Chicago. In 1924, she went to the annual meeting in Harlem. She asked the leaders to officially recognize the Daughters of Ethiopia. This was a group of women who helped improve the Black community. This helped women in the UNIA get more recognition for their work.
In 1925, Henrietta Vinton Davis went on a tour of the Caribbean. Maymie de Mena went with her as a translator and organizer. Maymie was very good at raising money and getting new members. Her Spanish skills were so valuable that she earned more money than Davis. When they returned, Maymie was known as a great speaker. She joined Garvey on stage to call for unity.
After Garvey was sent to prison again, Maymie de Mena traveled with Amy Jacques Garvey, Marcus Garvey's wife. They spoke in many cities across the Midwest and East Coast. This made Maymie a key person in Garvey's inner circle. In 1926, Maymie de Mena was elected as an assistant international organizer. The next year, she became the fourth vice president general. This made her Garvey's official representative. She stayed in touch with him through letters and visits. When Garvey was released from prison in 1927 and sent to Jamaica, Maymie de Mena led a celebration parade for him in Kingston, Jamaica. She rode a horse and carried a sword, showing her strong spirit.
In 1928, Maymie de Mena married Milton Tube Ebimber. He was a medical student from Cameroon. Their wedding was a big event at the UNIA's headquarters. However, soon after, Ebimber faced legal issues. By 1929, Maymie was using her de Mena surname again.
From 1928, Maymie de Mena was the most visible leader in the UNIA. She was key to growing the organization in Spanish-speaking Caribbean and southern American areas. When Garvey reorganized the movement in 1929, she became the international organizer. She was in charge of the Americas. Her powerful speaking style helped keep the movement alive after Garvey left the U.S. When Henrietta Davis left the UNIA in 1931, Maymie de Mena became the main leader. She also helped reorganize the UNIA branch in Costa Rica.
From 1932, Maymie de Mena directed the UNIA's newspaper, Negro World. She worked with Amy Jacques-Garvey to create a special page for women. This page focused on women's activism, not just fashion. They used the newspaper to share positive stories about Black people. They wanted to change how people viewed Afro-Caribbean women. Women were encouraged to uplift their race through motherhood. In places like Costa Rica, where West Indian women were denied citizenship, they used the UNIA to argue for their rights. The Negro World also had a Spanish section for Afro-Latinos. Under Maymie de Mena, the newspaper strongly supported women's rights. She urged members to fight against old rules and roles.
In Jamaica
On June 11, 1932, Maymie de Mena married Percy Aiken. He was a contractor and activist from Jamaica. Garvey tried to rebuild the UNIA from Jamaica, but his newspapers struggled. In 1934, Maymie, now called "Madame Aiken," started her own newspaper called the World Echo. This paper supported civil rights for African Americans. It also called for freedom in "spiritual, economic, political and industrial" ways.
In 1935, Maymie Aiken closed her newspaper and the UNIA offices in New York. She moved to Jamaica. Although she stayed involved with the UNIA, the organization was declining. Garvey faced financial problems and moved to London. Maymie Aiken started a new paper called the Ethiopian World. She kept a good relationship with Garvey until he died.
Maymie Aiken became very involved in social work in Jamaica. She joined the Women's Liberal Club and the Trade Unions Council. She supported many causes, including helping children and orphans. She also worked for better hygiene, rules for beauticians, care for the elderly, and better schools. Maymie Aiken was the Secretary of the Save the Children organization. She was also a member of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU). Even though this group mostly excluded women, she pushed for improvements for women. She helped start a trade union for seamstresses. She also co-founded the Housecraft Training Center. She was the only woman on the Trade Unions Council.
In 1939, Mary Morris Knibb ran for a seat on the Kingston/Saint Andrew Parish Council. Maymie Aiken strongly supported her. When Knibb won, Maymie organized a celebration for the first woman elected to political office in Jamaica. That same year, Maymie visited the U.S. She attended lectures at Howard University and met with the National Woman's Party.
When Garvey died in 1940, Maymie Aiken was considered to replace the UNIA Commissioner in Jamaica. She continued to push for women to be involved in politics. She even ran in local elections herself in 1947. Although she did not win, she encouraged others to vote for women candidates.
In 1949, Maymie Aiken became president of the Garvey Division of the UNIA. She held this role until 1950. In 1952, the UNIA in New York appointed her as the Commissioner for Cuba, Central America, and Jamaica. She was the president of the Women's Liberal Club when she traveled to the U.S. for medical care in September 1953.
Death and Legacy
Maymie Aiken passed away on October 23, 1953, from cancer. She was buried in the Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. The year after she died, a portrait of her was given to the Housecraft Training Center. This was a place she helped create to teach home skills.
