Mozella Esther Lewis (born about 1901 – died April 16, 1945) was an American pharmacist and businesswoman. She wrote an early history of African-American achievements in the pharmacy profession, and ran a drug store with another Black woman pharmacist in Los Angeles for over a decade.
Mozella Esther Lewis | |
|---|---|
 Mozella Esther Lewis, from the 1919 yearbook of the Howard University Academy | |
| Born | about 1901 Chattanooga, Tennessee, US |
| Died | April 16, 1945 Los Angeles, California, US |
| Other names | Moselle Ester Lewis, Mozelle E. Lewis |
| Occupation(s) | Pharmacist, businesswoman |
| Years active | 1925–1945 |
Early life edit
Mozella Esther Lewis was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the daughter of Alexander Lewis and Eugenia Dangerfield Lewis. Her father worked as a waiter on the railroad. After her parents' divorce, she was raised in the home of her paternal grandmother, Savannah Lewis.[1] She attended Chattanooga schools until she enrolled at Howard University's preparatory school, from which she graduated in 1919.[2][3]
Lewis completed studies in the Howard University School of Pharmacy in 1925. Her thesis, "History of the Negro in Pharmacy", explored the history of African-American achievements in the pharmacy profession, including a biographical listing of 176 African-American pharmacists. Her thesis was awarded a medal by the Howard faculty,[4] and republished in The American Druggist professional publication.[1][5]
Career edit
After graduating from Howard University, Lewis was a pharmacist at the Tuskegee Institute Hospital, and in Washington, D.C. and North Carolina. She moved to Los California in 1933. In 1934,[6] with another Black woman pharmacist, Helen Lee Williams Hairston,[7] she opened the L & W Drug Store in Los Angeles.[8][9] She was active in community organizations,[10] including the YWCA, the NAACP, and the Southern California Medical, Dental, and Pharamaceutical Association.[1] She and Williams were both officers in the medical sorority Rho Psi Phi.[11]
Personal life edit
Mozella Esther Lewis died in 1945, in her forties, in Los Angeles, California.[1] Her grave is in Evergreen Cemetery, in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. In 2016, her thesis was republished in the journal Pharmacy in History.[12]
References edit
- ^ a b c d Gregory Bond (2016). "Recovering and Expanding Mozella Esther Lewis's Pioneering History of African-American Pharmacy Students, 1870–1925". Pharmacy in History. 58 (1–2): 3–23. doi:10.26506/pharmhist.58.1-2.0003. JSTOR 10.26506/pharmhist.58.1-2.0003.
- ^ "Howard High Graduation". Chattanooga Daily Times. 1917-06-01. p. 4. Retrieved 2020-02-18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Howard University, "The Academy Final: 1919" (1919): 22.
- ^ "Love is Urged as Life Guide for Graduates at Howard U." Evening Star. 1925-06-06. p. 26. Retrieved 2020-02-18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lewis, Mozella Esther. “The History of the Negro in Pharmacy,” American Druggist (August 1925): 17–21.
- ^ "Local Women Open Pharmacy Next Saturday". California Eagle. 1934-12-21. p. 16. Retrieved 2021-05-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Negro who's who in California. San Francisco Public Library. 1948. p. 33 – via Internet Archive.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ "L&W Pharmacy (advertisement)". California Eagle. 1941-06-05. p. 12. Retrieved 2021-05-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Extending the Season's Greetings (advertisement)". California Eagle. 1944-12-21. p. 10. Retrieved 2021-05-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Rho Club". California Eagle. 1934-08-03. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-05-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Rho Psi Phi". California Eagle. 1935-11-22. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-05-28 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lewis, Mozella E. (2016). "History of the Negro in Pharmacy". Pharmacy in History. 58 (1–2): 24–35. doi:10.26506/pharmhist.58.1-2.0024. ISSN 0031-7047. JSTOR 10.26506/pharmhist.58.1-2.0024.
External links edit
- "African American Women in Pharmacy Firsts" Association of Black Health System Pharmacists; timeline of pioneers includes Mozella Esther Lewis
