The Clara Lemlich Awards for Social Activism Clara Lemlich I've Got Something to Say

2011 Honoree

Lillie Pope

educator and activist

Lillie Pope

Lillie Pope was an active leader of the Teachers Union and pioneered the first Learning Center in a mental health setting in this country for students with learning problems. She worked closely with the schools, guiding teachers, paraprofessionals, volunteers, and parents to help their students become readers. Working in an impoverished area in Coney Island, she employed and trained neighborhood women to assist; the beneficial impact on them, as on the children whom they served, was enormous.