Eleanor Granum and Ada Lee

Ada Lee, long-time community activist, is the 2011 Eleanor Granum Award Winner. Ms. Lee was born and raised in what is now Warner Robins. She was born and grew up as a child of sharecroppers on the planation which is now Robins Air Force Base.

She grew up in the Jim Crow south with separate schools and all that it entailed. She knew she did not want her children to suffer the indignities that she did. She was active during the peak of the civil rights movement in the 1960s watching both her children get arrested because of their non-violence protests at the drug counter and the board of education. She marched and picketed at every opportunity and lost one job because of her activities.

She went on to serve as the Director of the Warner Robins Day Care which is now Cherished Children. Eleanor was a volunteer there during Ms. Lee’s time as director. Now 87, Ada Lee continues active participation in her church, in the Middled Georgia Democratic Women’s Club and can still be found protesting when justice needs to be served. She was on the picket line last year when the North Davis post office was threatened with closure. It was a privilege to see Ms. Granum, the founding president of the branch, standing with another esteemed elder who received the award named after her.