Ernestine Garrett Lucas
Birth: November 20, 1914 in Richmond, Indiana
Died: June 24, 2005 in Springfield, Ohio
Education: She graduated from Morton High School in Richmond, Indiana. In 1935, she received two BAs from Fisk University (Nashville, Tennessee) in Mathematics and Physics. In 1937, she received an MA in education from the same institution.
Career as an Educator: After graduating, she taught at the Tennessee State School for Delinquent Girls, the Sleighten Farm School in Pennsylvania, and the Ohio State Department of Vocational Rehabilitation. After moving to Springfield, she couldn’t teach for twenty years due to racial bias. But, she was eventually able to teach Genealogy for Springfield Community Schools.
Career as an Artist: Ernestine turned to volunteering in her community and art when she could not teach. In addition to creating gifts for family, she also sold her art. She enjoyed making clothes, weaving, and creating ceramics. Career as an Author: Ernestine was fascinated by genealogy. She liked to research local Black families from Springfield and her own family. From her research, she published two books: From Paris to Springfield, The Slave Connection, Basey-Basey, and Wider Window to the Past.
Booker T. Washington
Birth: 1935
Education: He studied business at Indiana University East, but still took many English and writing courses.
Career as an Author: His namesake, Booker T. Washington (1856-1915), inspired him to become a writer. He printed an instructional book titled How to Upholster a Chair while working as a furniture upholster. Then he wrote Encouraging Words and gave away 300 free copies because “giving inspiration to others cost you nothing, and if given, can make a world of difference.” He also published a memoir about his life titled Inspiration.
Beatrice “Tommie” Holland
Birth: March 6, 1916 in Madison County, Kentucky
Died: January 12, 2003, in Indianapolis, Indiana (she is buried in the Earlham Cemetary in Richmond, Indiana)
Education: She graduated from Ball State University and Wilberforce University.
Career as an Educator: In the 1940s, she taught in Columbia, South Carolina. After moving to Richmond, Indiana, in 1954, she applied for a teaching position but didn’t hear back. Finally, in 1960, she re-applied and became the first Black teacher hired in the Richmond Schools system. She taught at the Joseph Moore School and Glen Hills School. Career as an Author: Wanting to preserve Black folklore, she retold the classic Uncle Remus stories using engaging poems and published them in the book Uncle Remus in Rhythm and Rhyme.
Legal Career: Tommie served as a judge in Marion County, Indianapolis. She was also the first Black woman to head the Indiana Civil Rights Commission (1973-1977). Accomplishments: She received Indiana’s highest civilian honor, the “Sagamore of the Wabash.”
Iesha Webster-Harris
Birth:
Education: Grambling State University; Capella University
Career as an author: My Mom Says I’m Beautiful; Glory Crown; Pretty Blessed.
Career: In addition to being an author, she is a business professional with over 20 years of experience working in Higher Education and Criminal Justice. She is also the Founder and Executive of SHEroes Inc. an Indiana-registered non-profit organization founded on principles surrounding compassion, commitment, and courage for young ladies.
Elliot Blaine Henderson
Birth: October 6, 1877 (Springfield, Ohio)
Died: August 3, 1944
Career as an Author: He has self-published nine volumes of poetry: Plantation Echoes, Darky Meditations, Heroes of the Battlefield and Other Poems, Humble Folks, Old Fashioned Black Fo’ks, Polished and Unpolished Diamonds, The Romance of Hannibal, and Soliloquy of Satan and Other Poems.
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