Ruth was born in Springfield, Illinois to Charlie Ellis and Carrie Farro Ellis. She was the youngest of four children in the family and the only daughter. Her parents were born in the last years of slavery in Tennessee.
Ruth's mother died when she was a just fifteen years old. She came out as a lesbian around 1915, and graduated from Springfield High School in 1919, at a time when fewer than seven percent of African Americans graduated from secondary school.
In the 1920s, she met the only woman she ever lived with, Ceciline "Babe" Franklin. They moved together to Detroit, Michigan in 1937 where Ellis became the first American woman to own a printing business in that city. She made a living printing stationery, fliers, and posters out of her house.
Ellis and Franklin's house was also known in the African American community as the "gay spot". It was a central location for gay and lesbian parties, and also served as a refuge for African American gays and lesbians. Although Ellis and Franklin eventually separated, they were together for more than 30 years. Franklin died in 1973. Throughout her life, Ellis was an advocate for the rights of gays and lesbians, and of African Americans. She died in her sleep at her home on October 5, 2000.
The Ruth Ellis Center
The Ruth Ellis Center honors the life and work of Ruth Ellis & is one of only four agencies in the United States dedicated to homeless LGBT youth and young adults. Among their services are a drop-in center, street outreach program, transitional living programs, and emergency housing shelter. If you're every in the neighborhood, drop on by ya hear.
This has been a moment in
//signed//
The Afrocentric Cat's Meow
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