Sylvia Drew Ivie

Sylvia Drew Ivie was born in Washington DC in 1944. Growing up there, she attended segregated schools and experienced hostility from neighbors in predominantly White neighborhoods. Influenced by her mother’s Unitarian tradition and the Quaker schools she attended, Sylvia felt it was important to help her community. Her father’s early death meant that Sylvia and her three siblings were raised primarily by her mother, who emphasized the arts and the importance of being involved in politics. Her father, Charles R. Drew, was a prominent medical researcher and educator at Howard University who did groundbreaking work on blood transfusions. It was while working for one of his colleagues, Dr. William Montague Cobb, that Sylvia was able to attend the March on Washington and hear Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. This experience compelled her to become a civil rights lawyer. During her career, she fought for the integration of schools in Tulsa, Oklahoma, represented Native American tribes, was part of the NAACP Defense Fund, worked for the National Health Law Program, fought for the reproductive needs of women in South LA with the community clinic, and opened a community kitchen. She currently works at Charles R. Drew University, named for her father, as a special assistant to the president for community affairs. Sylvie met her husband, Ardie, while working in New York. Soon after marrying they moved to Los Angeles, where Ardie grew up, and where they raised their two children. Sylvia reflects on the warmth, brilliance, and heart of her community.