Melnea A. Cass (1896-1978) Melnea Cass Boulevard in Lower
Roxbury is named for one of Boston’s most beloved and effective
advocates for African Americans in Boston. She was relentless in
her pursuit of educational and economic opportunities and racial
justice for her community. Known as the “First Lady of Roxbury,”
Melnea Cass’s activities ranged from volunteering on committees,
serving on boards, and accepting city-appointed commissions, to
giving money to students who graduated from school. Born in
Richmond, Virginia in 1896, Melnea Agnes Jones’s father worked
as a janitor, her mother as a domestic worker. Melnea’s father
wanted a better life for his children, including a proper
education, so he moved the family to Boston’s South End when
Melnea was five years old. She attended the Boston Public
Schools. Three years later, her mother died and the children’s
“Aunt Ella” stepped in to take care of them. She soon moved the
girls to Newburyport, Massachusetts, under the care of Amy Smith
where Melnea attended g