Ella Phillips Stewart: Pharmacist, Business Woman, Civil Rights Leader and Women’s Rights Advocate

As we celebrate Women’s History Month in March, we should take a look at the women who made history and are an influence to, not only women, but people everywhere. One such woman is Ms. Ella P. Stewart, who is known as one of the first African American female pharmacists in the United States. She overcame discrimination and adversity all of her life by challenging herself and becoming an overachiever.

Ms. Stewart was born Ella Nora Philips on March 6, 1893 in Stringtown, West Virginia to two sharecroppers. She attended high school at Storer College at the age of 12, which was the only high school in her area that would accept children of all races, and graduated in 1910. This was at a time “when most working-class women did not attend school beyond the primary level.” She originally wanted to become a teacher, but instead chose to marry her first husband Mr. Charles Myers after graduation. Together they had one child who died of pertusis or whooping cough.

Ms. Stewart became interested in pharmacy while working as a bookkeeper at a pharmacy after the death of her daughter. When she initially tried to enter the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, she faced discrimination when they told her that admissions were closed. This setback, however, did not deter her from chasing her dream, and she eventually got into the program. Although she was segregated from the rest of her peers, she graduated from the program with high marks. She passed the state board exam in 1916, making her the first African American woman pharmacist in Pennsylvania, as well as one of the first African American woman pharmacist in the United States.

Ella was able to purchase the first drugstore she worked for as a pharmacist in Pittsburgh; however, the pressures of running a business took a toll on her marriage and health, and she and Charles soon divorced. After she bought another drugstore in the General Hospital of Braddock, Pennsylvania, she ended up having to move back home because of her health. She was remarried in 1920 to a fellow graduate by the name of Mr. William Stewart, and he ran the drugstore for her.

When she and her new husband moved to Youngstown, Ohio she applied to and was hired for a hospital pharmacist position that was only open to white applicants. This was monumental in helping to eliminate the discriminatory practices within that hospital.

Later on, the Stewarts moved to Detroit. Upon learning that there were no black-owned drug stores in Toledo, Ohio, she and her second husband opened Stewart’s Pharmacy in 1922 in the predominantly African American Pinewood District. As her business thrived, she became a pillar of the community and was involved in several community organizations, including the Enterprise Charity Club–a black women’s organization that provided assistance to Toledo families, the Ohio Association of Colored Women–which she became president of in 1944, and the National Association of Colored Women, or NACW–which she was president of from 1928 to 1952. She was also the first African American member of the Toledo League of Woman Voters.

During her stint as president of the NACW, she successfully lobbied for such legislation as: anti-lynching and anti-poll tax, fair employment practices, and equal opportunity for housing and education. She also lobbied for the support of black-owned businesses and the development of “endowment and scholarship funds for young black women.”

Because of her stellar leadership in the many organizations that she participated in, she was appointed in 1952 as a delegate for the International Conference of Women of the World, and used her leadership skills in many international organizations, such as the Pan-Pacific and Southeast Asia Women’s Association. She was also appointed as commissioner for the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO in 1963. Her most cherished achievement, however, was having an elementary school in Toledo named in her honor.

Even though she faced prejudice and racism head on up until her death in 1987 in a retirement home in Toledo, she never accepted it and always worked hard to overcome it. Ella P. Stewart is an inspiration not only to African American women, but all woman around the world. She has also paved the way for other African American pharmacists, such as myself. Here’s to remembering her legacy during Women’s History Month.

References:
1. “Ella P. Stewart Collection,” Bowling Green State University Center for Archival Collections
2. Borden, Timothy, ” Stewart, Ella 1893-1987, ” Encyclopedia.com


People also view

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *