Lillian Drummond, a prominent community leader and activist in Austin, died Jan. 10. Born in 1921, Drummond celebrated her 104th birthday in October.
To honor Drummond’s life, her on-the-ground pursuit of social change, and successful advocacy for policy reform, nearly 100 people attended a celebration of life Feb. 12 at Friendship M.B. Church in Chicago.
Pastor of the church, Rev. Reginald E. Bachus, opened the program with a prayer for Drummond.
“Lord, thank you for her vigor, her vitality and accomplishments. … She was a real champion for persons in this community, particularly those who were less fortunate,” Bachus said. “It’s our prayer today, God, that her life and her legacy will not be in vain, but that someone will pick up the torch and continue to carry forward what sister Lillian Drummond meant to us in this community and in this city. Lord, longevity is not promised, but you allowed her to live a good, long and well-lived life, and for that we are grateful.”
In 1997, Drummond helped found the South Austin Coalition Community Council, which works to assist and unite Austin residents.
“The South Austin Coalition became one of the most potent local organizations in America, without a doubt, because of Ms. Drummond,” along with other founding members, Cong. Danny Davis said via speaker phone, calling into Drummond’s celebration of life service. “I think what they taught was not only social activism, but they also taught honesty. They taught integrity. They taught people not to just be engaged, but also be principled.”
Drummond is well-known for advocating for utility assistance for seniors and low-income residents — a cause she fought for well into her 90s. SACCC supported the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps people struggling to pay utility bills. SACCC also helped establish the Community Reinvestment Act, which requires banks to invest money in the communities where they’re located.
Individually, Drummond helped launch Loretto Hospital’s Golden Life senior wellness program, where members over 60 get free health screenings, prescription delivery and transportation to and from the hospital. She also fought for the creation of the Austin Satellite Senior Center in 2004 as a space for seniors to get resources and support.
At Drummond’s celebration of life gathering, multiple public officials said they are asking the mayor and city council to rename the senior center in honor of Drummond.
State Rep. Camille Lilly was one of those public officials and also called to name Loretto’s Golden Life program after Drummond. Lilly has served as director of community affairs and chief external affairs officer at Loretto. She said that, like many other people in the room, she called Drummond “mama.”
“Austin, Illinois, was Miss Drummond’s baby,” Lilly said of the Chicago neighborhood that was once its own municipality. “Miss Drummond, for 104 years, was about service, and she did the work that made each of us feel valued. She did the work that brought the fight out in all of us,” Lilly said.
“Miss Drummond cared for her people. Miss Drummond loved her people, and Miss Drummond is passing on her duties and her responsibilities to each and every one of us, and so we have to make sure that we carry on her legacy,” Ald. Chris Taliaferro said.
“She was not only feisty, but for the right reasons,” said Ald. Jason Ervin. “It’s one thing to be feisty and foolish off in left field, but there was never a time that she was not about taking care of the people in this community, about trying to help somebody.”
Melissa Conyears-Ervin, city treasurer, wife of the alderman and a congressional candidate in the 7th district Democratic primary, said of Drummond: “Talk about someone that builds bridges. She did not demonstrate hate. We’re living in a world where there’s so much division and hate, but Miss Drummond exhibited unity and love.”
Conyears-Ervin added that, as a child living in Austin, Drummond was a shining example of the strength she grew up seeing.
“There’s so many women in this room and so many seniors in Austin that helped raise us,” Conyears-Ervin said, including herself, Rep. Lilly and Commissioner Tara Stamps, “women who are able to stand up because we stand on the shoulders of those before us. So, thank you Miss Lillian Drummond for showing us how to be bold, for showing us to ask for what you want — and she didn’t always ask Alderman Taliaferro, she demanded.”
Illinois Senate President Don Harmon said at the celebration: “Miss Drummond was a force of nature. She was always kind to me, even when she didn’t have to be. … You, I, our neighborhood and our community are richer for having shared it with her.”
Carlin Morse, commander of the Chicago Police Department’s 15th district in Austin, said Drummond was a pioneer in community policing for the district: “She knew, she taught, she led, she lived, she loved, and she made us all better for it.”
“This community, all communities, need a Lillian Drummond,” said Cook County Commissioner Tara Stamps. “I believe that the salvation and survival of our people is at the intersection of the lived experience and wisdom of our elders and the innovation, courage and curiosity of our youth. We must preserve the integrity of our elders and protect the future of our babies. So happy Black History Month, 100 years of Black history. Lillian Drummond is Black history. So she, and all of her accomplishments and the love that she has poured into this community, must live on.”
At Drummond’s celebration of life, five resolutions were read honoring her. They were from the Westside Coalition for Seniors, Habilitative Systems, Rep. Camille Lilly’s office, the Westside Ministers Coalition, and the Cook County Board of Commissioners.