Lena O. Smith

Lena Olive Smith (August 13, 1885 − Nov. 6, 1966) was a lawyer and civil rights advocate in Minneapolis during the early to mid-20th century. She was the first female African American lawyer in Minnesota, helped establish a local chapter of the National Urban League in Minneapolis, and was an active member and the first female president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Minneapolis chapter.

Early life Smith was born on August 13, 1885, in Lawrence, Kansas, to John H. and Geneva D. Smith. In 1905 Smith moved with her father to Buxton, Iowa, and worked at the company store of the coal mine located there. In 1906 her father died of heart failure. Smith reunited with her mother and four younger siblings and moved to Minneapolis.

Smith worked a variety of jobs to help support her family including as a hairdresser and real estate agent.

Smith continued to practice law into the 1950s and 1960s and remained active with the NAACP and other professional organizations. In 1965 Smith was honored as an invited guest of Lyndon Johnson's inauguration in Washington, D. C. She died on November 6, 1966, at the age of 81.

On the basis of her contributions to Minneapolis history, Smith's longtime house in South Minneapolis was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 as the Lena O. Smith House. The Minnesota Black Women's Lawyer Network also holds an annual luncheon named in her honor.