"OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE" : ELLA NORA P. STEWART

As you all know by now, this past weekend many of the local colleges held their graduation ceremonies, and students received their college degrees. As I thought about the graduations, my mind began pondering this question,"In our rush to get college degrees and jobs, are we as Blacks losing much of "OUR RICH BLACK HERITAGE?" Personally, I believe that we are, which is very disturbing to me! Well, In one of my previous articles, I informed everyone about how Dr. John Reddix , the President of the Monroe Chapter of the NAACP had wrote a letter to the C.O.R.E. Organization requesting them to send some of their people to help with Voter Registration and Civil Rights Protests in the Monroe area. Also, I included how "Black Youth" in Monroe were called on to participate in some of the demonstrations. By the way, I recently found the names of a couple of the Black Youth who took part in the library protest at the Anna-Meyer Branch and were put in jail for doing so. Their names were Jimmy Andrews, Bennie Roy Brass, Dorothy Higgins, and Etta Faye Carter. All of the participants were coached on what to do when the police came to arrest them. The police took them and held them in juvenile cages for 3 days, before they were released on $200 bonds. The protests led to three of the young protesters filing a Lawsuit in the Monroe division of the federal district court. After a year of court battles between the City of Monroe officials and Civil Rights Activists, the city officials gave in, and the Ouachita Parish Public Libraries we're integrated in 1965! What's so surprising to me is that all through my days in elementary & high school, I never heard any of my school teachers, Black or White, ever say "one word" about the "Black Youth" Library Protests that took place in the "Summer of 1964!" Furthermore, I feel that we as Black adults need to get busy Educating our Black Youth about the "Summer of 1964," and other Civil Rights Events that took place in and around Monroe, West Monroe, and surrounding towns. If we don't, who will? Anyway, let's get to this week's Black Pioneer! Ella Nora P. Stewart was born , in Stringtown, Virginia. When Ella Nora turned 6 years old, she was sent to live with her grandmother to attend grade school in Berryville, Virginia. After Ella Nora graduated, she was awarded a scholarship to attend the Storer Normal School, in nearby Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. From there, she entered a teacher's training program at However, before Ella Nora could finish the teaching program, she fell in love with and married her classmate, Charles Myers. Once they were married, they moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In Pittsburgh, Ella Nora took a job as a bookkeeper at a local pharmacy. While working at the pharmacy, she decided that she wanted to become a pharmacist. In 1914, she enrolled and gained admittance into the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. When Ella Nora received her degree in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, in 1916, she became the first black female to graduate from Pitt's pharmacy program. Well, Ella Nora wasn't satisfied with just earning her pharmacy degree. Therefore, she went took and passed the Pittsburgh State Licensing Exam, making her the first Negro female pharmacist in the state of Pennsylvania and one of the first Negro female pharmacists in the country! Later on, Ella Nora and her second husband William Stewart opened Stewarts' Pharmacy, located at the corner of Indiana and City Park Avenues (566 Indiana Avenue), in Toledo, in July 1922. They operated theIr pharmacy until 1945, when they sold the business. Also, their pharmacy became a popular neighborhood gathering place. In fact, the Stewarts actually owned the building and lived in the spacious eight rooms above the Furthermore, they often hosted visitors from out of town, including W.E.B. Dubois and Mary McLeod Bethune. In addition to being a pharmacist, Ella Nora participated and became a leading member of several civic groups in Toledo, Ohio. A few of them included the Young Women's Christian Association, the Enterprise Charity Club, and she served as President of the National Association of Colored Women's Club. After living a full & fruitful life, Ella Nora P Stewart died at the ripe old age of 94! In her honor, a new school in Toledo was named the Ella P. Stewart Elementary School (later: Ella P. Stewart Academy for Girls). In subsequent years Stewart volunteered there regularly, and in 1974 the school created a museum to house Stewart's plaques and awards, and memorabilia she collected on her international tours.