Ella P. Stewart’s life was defined by resilience, trailblazing achievement, and a deep commitment to service. As one of the first Black women pharmacists in the United States and a devoted member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Stewart broke barriers in her profession while advancing civil rights and civic engagement at home and abroad.
Born Ella Nora Phillips in 1893 in Stringtown, Virginia, Stewart was the eldest of four children in a family of sharecroppers. An outstanding student, she graduated at the top of her grade school class and entered Storer Normal School in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, at age 12, thanks to several scholarships. Though she initially pursued teacher training, her path shifted after personal tragedy and early work in pharmacy.
In 1916, Stewart became the first Black woman to graduate from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. That same year, she passed the state examination to become the first Black woman pharmacist in Pennsylvania, one of the first in the nation.
Stewart’s career spanned multiple states and entrepreneurial ventures. After early work in Pittsburgh and Braddock, Pennsylvania, she and her second husband, fellow pharmacist William Wyatt “Doc” Stewart, moved to Toledo, Ohio. There they opened Stewarts’ Pharmacy in 1922—the city’s first Black-owned pharmacy. Located at 566 Indiana Avenue, the pharmacy became a vital hub for the neighborhood and a welcoming space for luminaries including Marian Anderson, Mary McLeod Bethune, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Paul Robeson.
Throughout her life, Stewart remained deeply engaged in civic and social organizations. She was a charter member of both the Beta Lambda chapter (1937) and the Toledo Alumnae Chapter (1972) of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., where she exemplified the sorority’s mission of scholarship, sisterhood, and service. In the 1930s and beyond, she became a prominent leader in the YWCA, the Enterprise Charity Club, and the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, where she served as national president from 1948 to 1952. Her leadership extended internationally; Stewart represented the United States at global women’s conferences, toured as a goodwill ambassador in Asia, and served on the U.S. commission of UNESCO.
Stewart’s contributions were recognized throughout her lifetime and beyond. A Toledo school was named in her honor in 1961. She was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame in 1978 and posthumously into the Toledo Civic Hall of Fame in 1999. The University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, her alma mater, continues to celebrate her legacy, including naming a conference room for her in 2023…