The daughter of sharecroppers, Ella Phillips Stewart was the nation’s first African-American woman pharmacist, earning a pharmacy degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1916. She and her second husband moved to Youngstown, Ohio, where Ella applied for the pharmacist position at the Youngstown City Hospital, despite the “no Negro needs to apply” phrase in the newspaper advertisement. The Stewarts opened their pharmacy in Toledo in 1922. Before Toledo hotels accepted Negros, the Stewart’s opened their home and became personal friends with many prominent Black leaders and entertainers. Ella’s extensive list of awards and honorary degrees includes induction into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame. In 1963, she was appointed to the executive board of UNESCO and travelled the world as a goodwill ambassador, but often faced discrimination at home. In 1961, Toledo honored Ella Stewart by naming an elementary public school for her.