Search
Search

HISTORY

From Tripoli to the US: Sumayeh Attiyeh, a feminist activist before her time

At the turn of the 20th century, a woman from Tripoli became the youngest lecturer in the United States to join the cultural and social movement known as “Chautauqua,” which originated in New York.

From Tripoli to the US: Sumayeh Attiyeh, a feminist activist before her time

Photo of Sumayeh Attiyeh from 1903, when she was thirteen. (Credit: courtesy of Zeina Ujayli)

It was in the 1870s, in southwestern New York, in the town of Chautauqua, where the first educational assembly to train teachers and educators was developed.

The educators who formed this assembly were known as “traveling Chautauquas,” and were on a mission to provide lectures, dance, music, theater, and other forms of cultural enrichment throughout the United States.

The chautauqua shows were extremely popular.President Theodore Roosevelt himself once noted that they “really tell the story of America.”

One young woman, Sumayeh Attiyeh (1890-1978), stood out among the Chautauquas. It was the turn of the 20th century. Hailing from Tripoli, then part of Ottoman Syria, Attiyeh’s accomplishments earned her praise from Roosevelt himself.

But how did this young Tripolitan join this popular movement?

Attiyeh’s journey was both unusual and revolutionary for a woman of the nineteenth century. In 1902, at the young age of 12, she left her hometown in present day Lebanon for Chicago, leaving behind her large family of six siblings.

Attiyeh’s father, a senior official with the Ottoman authorities, believed in her potential and encouraged her to study abroad, promising to support her financially.

Despite the challenges of traveling alone to a foreign land in those times, Attiyeh set off to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor and planned to eventually return to work in Tripoli.

Throughout her studies in the US, Attiyeh received monthly financial support from her family to help her live comfortably and focus on her education.

Shattered dream

But a tragedy disrupted her life a year later, when her father passed away and her family was left penniless.

She was now a young student with only $5 in her pocket and no support from her impoverished relatives. Stranded in America, Attiyeh had no means to continue her education.

At the age of just 13, Attiyeh had to support herself. She soon found a job at a department store and started earning $6 a week. Despite the forced interruption of her education, the young ambitious immigrant persisted and learned English on her own. She would often ask her colleagues to correct her grammar and her English skills improved.

By the time she was 16, Attiyeh was occasionally invited to give lectures on her Middle Eastern education to various religious groups.

During one of her lectures, Attiyeh caught the attention of a leader from the “Chautauqua Lecture Circuit.” Impressed by her eloquence, he offered her a position with the movement.

A year later, Attiyeh toured with the circuit and became an experienced lecturer. Instead of $6, she was earning $200 a week.

With the new income, she helped her entire family emigrate to the US. She earned a reputation for success and was featured on magazine covers and even had poems dedicated to her.

Bringing East and West Together

“She wanted to create a better understanding between the East and the West. She wanted Americans to see Oriental women for who they really were, and showcase their most beautiful and strong aspects,” Zeina Ujayli, a researcher at the University of Southern Carolina told L’Orient-Le Jour.

Attiyeh was an advocate of social reform in both the Middle East and America. Published in numerous newspapers and magazines, she wrote in both English and Arabic. She also maintained strong ties with members of the Pen League, a collective of writers who supported each other, which included Gibran Khalil Gibran and Amin Rihani.

Attiyeh left the world having introduced America to the cultural richness of her homeland.

She passed away in 1978 at the age of 88, surrounded by her family and friends.

In a letter to Amin Rihani, she expressed her deepest wish: “I do not want an evanescent and vain fame, nor a fading fame nor a fleeting fortune. I must fulfill the purpose for which I am here and work in harmony with the divine plan designed for me.”

This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour. Translation by Sahar Ghoussoub.

It was in the 1870s, in southwestern New York, in the town of Chautauqua, where the first educational assembly to train teachers and educators was developed.The educators who formed this assembly were known as “traveling Chautauquas,” and were on a mission to provide lectures, dance, music, theater, and other forms of cultural enrichment throughout the United States.The chautauqua shows were...