Elizabeth "Lizzie" "Ida" Tucker
On the morning of October 20, 1913, Elizabeth “Lizzie” “Ida” Tucker was walking on North Railroad Avenue between 7th and 8th Avenue in downtown Opelika, a walk she probably completed thousands of times, when a portion of the Alliance Cotton Warehouse wall collapsed and crushed her. The wall had weakened due to an overnight fire. With both her legs broken and having sustained internal injuries, Ms. Tucker was carried to the home of another African American woman just a few blocks away because the local Opelika hospital was segregated—Whites only—and Ms. Tucker would not survive an out-of-town trip to the nearest accommodating hospital. Denied immediate medical attention, Ms. Tucker was also denied the basic human right to life. Like many enslaved persons, Ms. Tucker’s age at death was a mystery. Some documents record her birth year as 1845 while others record it as late as 1860. Enslaved people were denied a record of birth by their enslavers. As a result, age was determined by how old a person “looked.” After emancipation, Ms. Lizzie worked for little pay as a servant, and her husband Berry worked as a janitor at a local church and bank. Together however, they were able to purchase one fourth of an acre of what was known as the Byrd Land on June 24, 1873 for $75. They raised at least two children and were married for 45 years at the time of her tragic death. Ms. Tucker was also a beneficiary of the Mosiac Templars of America—a benevolent fraternity founded around providing affordable burial insurance. Ms. Elizabeth Tucker rests at the oldest of Bethel #1 Missionary Baptist Church’s cemeteries.
Contributed by Carmilla Tindal