Lee sisters facts for kids
The Lee sisters (Ernestine, Ruth Elaine, Sandra, Brenda, Peggy Jane, Joan, and Susan Lee) were American civil rights activists. They helped inspire the movement to end segregation in Memphis during the 1960s.
Early Life and Activism
The Lee sisters were seven daughters of Robert and Alversa Williams Lee. Their grandfather, Dennis Williams, was born into slavery in Lauderdale County, Tennessee. In the 1960s, Memphis was a segregated city. This meant that Black and white people were kept separate in many public places.
The oldest sister, Ernestine, went to LeMoyne–Owen College. She started working for social justice while still in high school. In 1960, she was arrested for visiting libraries that were only for white people.
For the next six years, the Lee sisters became very involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Ernestine and her sisters organized many sit-ins. They protested at white-only libraries, lunch counters, and theatres. Their actions helped inspire the desegregation movement in Memphis.
The sisters also joined several important marches. These included the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, the Selma to Montgomery marches, and the March Against Fear. In 1965, Jet magazine reported that members of the Lee family had been arrested 17 times while fighting for racial justice. They were called America's most arrested family. That same year, the NAACP honored them.
Elaine Lee also studied at LeMoyne–Owen College. After graduating in 1966, she became a teacher. She worried that African-American children in Memphis did not know enough about their own history.
In 1983, Elaine and Joan Lee started Heritage Tours. This company organized tours focused on the history of the Civil Rights Movement. Heritage Tours was the first tour company in Tennessee owned by African Americans.
Elaine and Joan also helped create a monument for enslaved Africans who died between 1852 and 1865. They founded the Slave Haven Underground Railroad Museum. This museum teaches people in Memphis about Black history. Peggy Jane Lee became a lawyer and worked in Memphis.
Recognition and Honors
In 2017, the African American Museum of Memphis put up a historical marker to honor the Lee sisters. When asked about her work, Elaine said, "I felt that we had a certain amount of power because we were on the side of right." The sisters were also included in the Memphis Women's Legacy Trail.
The Lee sisters are the aunts of Danielle N. Lee. She is a biology professor and science communicator at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
