Elaine Estes

Last updated

Elaine Rose Graham Estes (born November 24, 1931 [1] [2] ) is an American retired librarian who was the Des Moines Public Library director and the first African American to have that title. Her attempt to live in the then-unintegrated Drake University dormitories led to her and two others being credited for integrating the dormitories. Estes received multiple honors, including a Distinguished Alumni Award and appearing in a documentary.

Contents

Early life

Estes was born in Springfield, Missouri to James and Zelma Graham. [3] [4] Her parents owned Graham's Rib Station in Springfield and Estes worked there as a child. They were able to operate the business throughout the Great Depression due to withdrawing their savings shortly before the stock market crash. The business was near Route 66 and served everyone, including World War II soldiers, entertainers from the Shrine Mosque, and people who lived in the same neighborhood. Graham’s Rib Station was known for her parents' barbecue sauce. [4]

When Estes was deciding between attending Drake University or Sarah Lawrence College, she visited Drake University in 1949. The dean of women told her that the university's housing was not integrated. [3] Due to Iowa laws, Estes' parents initially thought that "Des Moines would be more of an open opportunity for people of color". [5] After the board of trustees ruled in favor of racial integration, she moved into the women's dormitory during the fall. Estes has been credited with integrating the university's dormitories alongside Johnnie Lockett and Hetercene Turner. She graduated in 1953 and attended Drake University in 1956 for a teaching degree. [3]

Career

Estes worked at Younkers and was later hired by the Des Moines Public Library, in which she worked for 39 years and received a promotion as the library director. She was the first director of the library to be African American and she was the first woman to have that role in 50 years. [3] When she was the library director, the library was the first in the United States to start a materials preservation program and pass a law protecting a library user's record. [6] She retired in 1995. [7] [8]

Honors

Estes won the Distinguished Alumni Award from Drake University in 1979 and was the first woman inductee of the Des Moines Rotary Club. DSM Magazine named her as one of the sages over 70 in November 2016. [3] On June 23, 2010, Estes was inducted into the Iowa African-American Hall of Fame. [6] In 2019, she appeared in the Iowa Public Television documentary Tradition and Valor: The Story Continues. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Des Moines, Iowa</span> Capital of Iowa, United States

Des Moines is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County with parts extending into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857. It is located on, and named after, the Des Moines River, which likely was adapted from the early French name, Rivière des Moines, meaning "River of the Monks". The city's population was 214,133 as of the 2020 census. The six-county metropolitan area is ranked 81st in terms of population in the United States, with 709,466 residents according to the 2020 census by the United States Census Bureau, and is the largest metropolitan area fully located within the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drake University</span> Private university in Des Moines, Iowa, US

Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa, United States. The University offers over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, education, law, and pharmacy. Drake University Law School was founded in 1865, which makes it one of the 25 oldest law schools in the United States.

Edna May Griffin was an American civil rights pioneer and human rights activist. Known as the "Rosa Parks of Iowa", her court battle against the Katz Drug Store in Des Moines in 1948, State of Iowa v. Katz, foreshadowed the civil rights movement and became a landmark case before the Iowa Supreme Court.

Adolphus "Dolph" Pulliam is a former American basketball player and television sportscaster. He played collegiately at Drake University. He was named to Drake University's All-Century basketball team. He helped lead the Drake men's basketball team to the 1969 Final Four and a third-place finish. On 7 February 2009, Drake University retired Pulliam's #5 jersey that he wore for the Bulldogs. In 2019 he was inducted into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elaine Szymoniak</span> American politician

Elaine Eisfelder Szymoniak was a State Senator from the U.S. state of Iowa, a former City Council Member representing the city of Des Moines, Iowa and a retired hearing and speech specialist, counselor, and administrator for the Iowa Department of Vocational Rehabilitation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Noun</span> American activist

Louise Frankel Rosenfield Noun was a feminist, social activist, philanthropist, and civil libertarian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Jane Coggeshall</span> American suffragist

Mary Jane (Whitely) Coggeshall was an American suffragist known as the "mother of woman suffrage in Iowa". She was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 1990.

Gwendolyn Wilson Fowler was an African-American pharmacist, the first black woman licensed in Iowa. She also became the first African-American woman from Iowa to serve in the United States Foreign Service, when she was posted to Vietnam in the 1950s. She was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abby Finkenauer</span> American politician (born 1988)

Abby Lea Finkenauer is an American politician who serves as the United States Special Envoy for Global Youth Issues within the U.S. Department of State since December 1, 2022. Finkenauer previously served as the U.S. representative from Iowa's 1st congressional district from 2019 to 2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Mary Jane Neville Odell was an American journalist, lecturer, and politician. She received multiple awards during her life, and was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 1979. In 1980, Odell was appointed Iowa Secretary of State, a position that she held until 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annie Nowlin Savery</span> American suffragist and philanthropist (1831–1891)

Annie Nowlin Savery was an American suffragist and philanthropist based in Des Moines, Iowa. She is known as a pioneer feminist and activist for woman suffrage. She began taking part in the woman suffrage movement in the 1860s, and became a leader in the county and state, speaking widely and helping establish organizations to support it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire Celsi</span> American politician

Claire A. Celsi is a member of the Iowa Senate, representing Senate District 16 in Central Iowa. A member of the Democratic Party, Celsi has served as senator since 2019. She owns a marketing and public relations firm, The Public Relations Project, incorporated in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jennifer Konfrst</span> American politician

Jennifer Glover Konfrst is an American politician in the state of Iowa. A Democrat, she has been a member of the Iowa House of Representatives representing the 32nd district since 2019. She is the House minority leader, a position that she has held since 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agnes Samuelson</span> American educator and school superintendent

Agnes Mathilda Samuelson was an American educator and a state superintendent in public schools. She worked to provide equal education for all students in Iowa. She was posthumously inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 1976 and a Des Moines elementary school was named after her.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sue M. Wilson Brown</span> American suffrage activist

Sue M. Wilson Brown was an African-American activist for women's suffrage. She was inducted into the Iowa Women's Hall of Fame in 1995.

Pauline Brown Humphrey was an American cosmetologist who started a cosmetology school, a beauty product line, a beauty store chain, and a Women's Army Corps African American beauty shop in Iowa. She sponsored programs that helped students learn cosmetology, and her students worked in beauty shops around the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virginia Harper</span> American civil rights activist (1929–1997)

Virginia Harper was a civil rights activist known for her work against the rerouting of U.S. Highway 61 (US 61) through the Mexican-American and Black neighborhoods of Fort Madison, Iowa.

Deborah Ann Turner was an American physician, the 20th president of the League of Women Voters of the United States (LWVUS), and the chair of the Board of Trustees of the League of Women Voters Education Fund (LWVEF). She was elected board president at the League of Women Voters's 54th and 55th National Conventions, in June 2020 and June 2022. She died on January 28, 2024.

Ruth Bluford Anderson was a social worker and professor at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI).

References

  1. ↑ Rehwald, Jackie (February 27, 2018). "A look back at Graham's Rib Station: 'We were never segregated. We served everyone.'". Springfield News-Leader.
  2. ↑ Peters, Tom (November 21, 2014). "Elaine Graham Estes interview transcript". Missouri State Digital Collections. p. 1.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "A woman of firsts". Drake University. February 23, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  4. 1 2 "Elaine Graham Estes". Route 66 Women. Assertion Films. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  5. ↑ Spigner, Rheya (February 28, 2021). "Woman shares story of being first Black female to reside in Drake dorms". KCCI. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Iowa African-American Hall of Fame to induct new members". Iowa State University. June 23, 2010. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  7. ↑ Clayworth, Jason (April 9, 2006). "YMCA worker among first to get a book". Des Moines Register. p. B4 – via ProQuest.
  8. ↑ "SPS Celebrates Elaine Graham Estes". Springfield Public Schools. Retrieved October 5, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Elaine Estes". Facebook. Des Moines Public Library. February 21, 2019. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.