Lillie A. Estes

Portrait Courtesy of Meredith Carrington and Barry O'Keefe

LILLIE ESTES LANE
Charity Street from St. James Street to 1st Street 

Lillie Ann Estes was born on August 6, 1960 in Hampton, Virginia to Henry and Rebecca Estes and was raised in Newport News – before relocating to Richmond to attend Virginia Commonwealth University in 1977. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in justice and public safety, she began her career in community strategy and became a leading voice in fair housing practices – using her apartment in Gilpin Court as headquarters. She founded the Charles S. Gilpin Community Farm, Community Justice Film Series, and RePHRAME, which stood for Residents of Public Housing Against Mass Eviction, and was involved with the Maggie L. Walker Initiative for Expanding Opportunity and Fighting Poverty, Virginia Poverty Law Center, Hope in the Cities, Community Justice Network, and Harvard University’s Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice. In 2016, in addition to running for mayor, she received the Mothers of Courage Award from Mothers for Justice and Equality. She departed at 59 years old on January 31, 2019 and her life was celebrated at Sixth Mount Zion Baptist Church before being laid to rest in Forest Lawn Cemetery.