Lyda Vivian Moore was born on November 19, 1890, in her family's home in Durham, North Carolina in the Hayti neighborhood.
[1][7] At eighteen, she matriculated at Fisk University, where she graduated magna cum laude in 1911 with a degree in music.
She gave private piano lessons and played the organ at St. Joseph's African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Merrick raised money in Durham to support Xuma's work in South Africa.
[14] However, the Stanford Warren Library did not have sufficient materials for the blind of interest to the Black community.
[13] The magazine included excerpts from leading Black periodicals, selected by Merrick, translated into Braille.
[7] During this time, she also endeavored to find funding for the magazine, often taking on the expense herself rather than charging a subscription fee from the often in-need readers.
[14] When Merrick stepped down as its editor in 1971, the Stanford Warren Library trustees took it over, publishing it semi-annually.