Uncrowned Community Builders

Florence Randolph Jackson was born in 1884 in Jersey City, New Jersey, and is the daughter of Charles Kersey Jackson and Mary Luvisa Bruce. She graduated from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, around 1908, majoring in Fashion Design and Couture.

As a top graduate from the Pratt Institute, she was referred to work in Stearn's Department Store on 42nd Street, but when she went in for the interview, she was denied employment because of her color. After she left the store that day, she was walking along Fifth Avenue where she happened upon the salon of Madame Elaine Curtis, a French Couture shop. Florence asked to speak to the owner, showed her the portfolio she had brought for the Stearn's interview, and was immediately hired. Florence worked for Madame Curtis from 1908 - 1915 and she sewed for many executive wives living in the city.

In 1915, Florence married Edward David Lee and moved to Buffalo. Having spent so many years in New York City, she was well-versed in the arts and culture. Once she arrived in Buffalo, she quickly worked to introduce the literature and musical works of many black writers and composers to young black women.

She started the Lit-Mus Study Club in February 1922. Club members met monthly, usually in her home, at 69 Brooklyn Avenue (the house has since been torn down) and later at her home on Michigan Avenue. The club is still in existence and celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2002. The Lit-Mus hosted several prominent black artists to its meetings including Nathaniel Dett, James Weldon Johnson, and others. The Lit-Mus provided scholarships and awards to talented youth. Members did book reports and attended functions where prominent blacks were performing or speaking. The Lit-Mus Study Club initiated the first observance of Black History Month in 1928.

Mrs. Lee was a member of St. Philip's Episcopal Church and of the Crescendo Music Club of Buffalo.