Trailblazing East St. Louis educator Lillian Parks remembered for her dedication

As a third grader in 1940, Lillian Parks was one of the first Black students to integrate East St. Louis’ Johnson Elementary School. In a full-circle moment roughly 50 years later, Parks became the school district’s first woman superintendent.

Those milestones are just two of the accomplishments that are being celebrated since Parks’ death on Feb. 19 at age 93.

“Dr. Parks was a remarkable woman — truly a pillar of the community,” East St. Louis District 189 Superintendent Arthur Culver said in a statement. “Her footsteps will forever be on the canvas of the hearts of the many lives she touched.”

Parks graduated from East St. Louis Lincoln High School in 1949 and attended the University of Illinois, according to her obituary. At the time, the university’s student population was between 1% and 2% Black, her son Alvin Parks Jr. said, and Black students were not allowed to live on campus.

Parks excelled in the face of discrimination. Years later, after establishing herself as a master educator and building a family in East St. Louis, she was one of the first African Americans, and one of the youngest people, to be inducted into the University of Illinois Hall of Fame, her obituary says.

“The very person who was being mocked was being asked to provide assistance to students and received the merit award in 1967,” Alvin Jr. said. “She was very worthy and able to do some pretty big things.”

Parks started her career in the East St. Louis School District in 1954 as a second-grade teacher at Dunbar Elementary, then later taught English language arts at her alma mater, Lincoln High School.

She later served as the director of Project Speak, which her son said was a program for high-poverty schools that helped students hone speech and articulation skills. It was started by Parks’ twin sister, Vivian Adams. Alvin Jr. participated in Project Speak when he attended Dunbar Elementary.

Parks also served as the deputy superintendent in charge of secondary education and then assistant superintendent for District 189. She became the district’s first woman superintendent in 1990, a position she held until her retirement in 1993.

In 2005, when the district needed an interim superintendent, Parks stepped into the role for about three months until Theresa E. Saunders became superintendent, Alvin Jr. said.

Parks also earned a Master of Science in education from Washington University and a Ph.D. from Saint Louis University.

Throughout her life, she participated in — and often led — a range of service organizations.

First a member of the East St. Louis chapter of Jack and Jill of America, an African American family-strengthening organization, Parks later served as the national president from 1978 to 1982, according to a Facebook tribute. Her service background also includes establishing the Gateway Illinois chapter of Links, leading fundraising efforts for the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation, and involvement in the NAACP and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., among others.

Parks’ career and service efforts earned her a number of awards and honors throughout her life, including being the first inductee into the Lincoln High School Alumni Hall of Fame.

Lauren and Alvin Parks Jr. said their mother’s service efforts often had a common through line.

“It always starts with the youth – she was a true youth advocate,” Lauren said.

Parks was a lifelong member of Saint Luke African Methodist Episcopal Church in East St. Louis. Her faith gave her the drive to serve others, Alvin Jr. said.

She was a dedicated wife, mother and grandmother at the same time she juggled her career and other obligations.

Lauren Parks said she remembers her mother would put her and her brother to bed, then wake herself at 2 a.m. to work toward her degrees. Parks would cook dinner for the following evening at 5 a.m. so it would be ready when she got home from work and the kids from school. Then she’d work a full day.

“She was a true inspiration, not just publicly, but also from a family standpoint,” Lauren Parks said.

A celebration of Parks’ life was held at Saint Luke African Methodist Episcopal Church earlier this month. An exhibit of her honors and other life achievements will be open to the public from 2 to 4 p.m. every Sunday in March at the church, 414 N. 14th St. in East St. Louis.

This story was originally published March 5, 2026 at 6:00 AM.