"Nevertheless, She Persisted": Springfield’s own Ernestine Garrett Lucas
By: Sheila S, WIN Member
I was 21 when I began my first teaching position at Keifer Junior High. One of the staff members that welcomed me and mentored me was math teacher Ernestine Lucas. (Though I didn’t know her, I did know her son, who was in my high school graduating class.) Her caring and practical advice made that year much easier and I treasure her for the mentoring and support she gave me.
What I didn’t know was her history and the obstacles she overcame in her life.
She passed in 2005 at the age of 90 and much of my information comes from her obituary–and it is awe inspiring.
Ernestine was born and raised in Richmond, Indiana, and attended Fisk University in Nashville, TN, earning both a BA in Mathematics and Physics, Cum Laude, in 1935, and an MA in Education in 1937. Her first teaching positions were at the Tennessee State School for Delinquent Girls, the Sleighten Farm School in Pennsylvania and the Ohio Department of Vocational Rehabilitation.
After marrying Robert Lucas, she settled in Springfield and had three children. She was unable to continue her chosen career here, racial bias kept her from obtaining a teaching position in the Springfield City Schools for 20 years!
Ernestine did not let that disappointment slow her down. She spent those years volunteering at her church, PTA, Girl Scouting, the YWCA and Planned Parenthood. She was an excellent seamstress and made clothing, slipcovers and draperies for family and friends as well as professionally to supplement her family’s income.
As a teacher, Mrs. Lucas was highly respected not only for her exemplary instructional skills but equally for the care she had for each of her students throughout her long career.
After retiring from teaching, Ernestine spent countless hours researching the genealogy of an early Afro-American family in Springfield, as well as her own and her husband’s lineage. She taught genealogy and was a charter member of the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce, Ohio.
Mrs. Lucas published two books: From Paris to Springfield: The Slave Connection and Wider Windows to the Past: African American History from a Family Perspective
Yes, Ernestine Lucas persisted. Throughout her life, she used her intelligence, drive and strength to make our community a better place