Lucille Mason Rose (September 27, 1920 - 1987) was an

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

civil servant and political activist who served as a New York City Deputy Mayor. She also served as the first woman president of the Catholic Interracial Council.

Biography

Early life

Born in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, Lucille Rose moved with her family to

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

at the age of seven. Her parents owned and operated a restaurant called Mason Dining Room around this time, which Rose's mother later took over and ran independently after Rose's father's death. Lucille Rose graduated from Girls High School in 1937. During World War II, she worked as a welder on the construction of the .

Career

Lucille Rose began her public service career in 1949 as a fiscal clerk in the Department of Social Services. In 1963, she earned a degree in economics from

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls about 15,000 undergraduate and 2,800 graduate students on a 35-acre campus. Being New York City's first publ ...

. After earning her degree, she served as director of the Bedford-Stuyvesant office of the city's Department of Labor. Rose was named deputy commissioner of the city Manpower and Career Development Agency by

Mayor John V. Lindsay John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, mayor of New York City, and candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regular ...

in 1970. In 1972, she was appointed Commissioner of Department of Employment. Beyond her official obligations, Rose held other posts in civic and political organizations, namely the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...

, the National Democratic Committee, the

Salvation Army Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

Advisory Committee, and St. Mary's Hospital. She was also the first woman president of the Catholic Interracial Council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Lucille Mason 1920 births 1987 deaths Deputy mayors of New York City Women in New York (state) politics Women in New York City Politicians from Richmond, Virginia Brooklyn College alumni 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians New York (state) Democrats Politicians from Brooklyn African-American Catholics