In the late 1950s, for the first time in Detroit’s 250-year history, a woman was elected mayor. She was Mary Virginia Beck, a Ukrainian by birth, a political and public figure, lawyer, speaker, publicist, philanthropist, and an active participant in the women’s movement. She was also the first Ukrainian woman to receive a law degree and practice law.
This was reported by Halyna Parasyuk.
Marusya Beck was born on February 29, 1908, in Ford City, Pennsylvania, to Michael and Anna Beck. Her father was a grocery store owner. The family had six children: two brothers (John and Andrew) and three sisters (Stella Roberta, Sonya, and Anna). In 1921, Marusya and her brother Andriy went to study in Ukraine, where she received her education at the Chortkiv and later Kolomyia gymnasiums. This period, according to researchers, had a significant impact on the formation of her worldview: “The driving force that guided her life path was the love for Ukraine, which she was saturated with during her life in Ukraine.”
At the age of sixteen, she returned to the United States and entered law school in Pittsburgh. After receiving her education, she began her activities in the field of education - organizing Saturday schools of Ukrainian studies, where she taught children the language, songs and dances.
Marusya Beck took her first steps in public activity in Chicago, where she arrived in 1933. There she worked as a cultural manager in the Ukrainian pavilion at the World Exhibition “The Progress of Progress.” She was responsible for documentation, trained tour guides, participated in the organization of the ethnographic exposition, and also helped create a youth environment. On her initiative, a congress of Ukrainian youth was convened, at which the League of Ukrainian Youth was founded.
After the exhibition, Marusya Beck moved to Detroit, where she practiced law and was active in public life. She joined the Union of Ukrainian Women of America, published the magazines “Women’s World” and “Our Life,” and organized literary competitions for women writers under the auspices of the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations. For twenty years, these competitions were held annually.
In 1949, Marusya Beck joined the Detroit City Council, becoming the first woman in its history to hold this position. In 1957, she became president of the city council and served as the acting city mayor. During her twenty years in government, she was actively involved in women's rights issues, and since 1962 she was a member of the governor's commission on the status of women.
Her speeches were distinguished by their expressiveness and impact on the audience. She spoke equally confidently in Ukrainian and English. Contemporaries noted her oratorical abilities:
“What is the charm of her speeches? In the fact that she inspires the frozen Ukrainian souls with beautiful memories of their homeland, depicting in wonderful colors: its nature, its people, its customs, its culture, and above all its glorious history. In sad tones she talks about the tragic past, but with passionate cries she calls for the fight for a better future.”
In 1952, Marusya Bek made a trip to Ukraine as part of a European tour. She visited Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Poltava, Odessa, and the grave of Taras Shevchenko. During her stay in Ukraine, she was struck by the language situation:
– Why don’t you speak your Ukrainian?
– So that none of us would make fun of us for speaking Ukrainian.
– Don’t you know what to say?
Following the trip, she organized a series of speeches in the United States, where she spoke about what she had seen, in particular about Russification and the lack of freedom. The Soviet press reacted with criticism, calling her “a nationalist who took on the shameful mission of lying to the Ukrainian people.”
She also gave a lecture “Impressions from a Trip to Ukraine” in Chicago, in particular on October 6, 1963 at the SUMA House.
Marusya Bek’s activities received official recognition. On February 28, 1964, “Marusya Bek Day” was declared in Detroit, and her sculptural bust was unveiled in the city council building. At the same time, her biography has a peculiarity: due to her birth date of February 29, 1964, she formally celebrated her 14th birthday.
On the occasion of her 85th birthday, Marusya Beck was congratulated by US Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George Bush. In 2003, she was awarded the Medal of St. Volodymyr the Great at the VIII World Congress of Ukrainians.
Marusya Beck died on January 30, 2005. She is buried at the St. Andrew Ukrainian Cemetery in South Bound Brook, New Jersey. Her life spanned the period before Ukraine gained independence, for which she advocated for many years.
Photo: Halyna Parasyuk.
Author: Danylo Pievchev