Ersa Poston

[2][6] When Poston was four, her mother died of tuberculosis, and she and her father moved to Paducah, Kentucky, where her paternal grandparents lived.

[4][5] During the Great Depression, her grandfather kept his job as a railroad switchman, and her grandmother began a soup kitchen from their house for other families who were less fortunate.

White and Black families attended, leading Poston to later say that Paducah had less racial discrimination during that period than later on.

[2] Poston was primarily raised by her grandmother, and she later emphasized that education and accomplishment were strong values for her family.

[4] She had initially wanted to study medicine, but was inspired to pursue social work after seeing widespread hunger and poverty during the Great Depression.

[1] She had long wanted to be a leader in the U.S. federal government, because "hopefully, one might have the opportunity to influence the social and public policies that shape the life and destinies of many people.

"[5] During the Nixon administration, a U.S. House subcommittee documented manipulation of the federal government's merit system.

[2] Poston also served as a Vice President of the Urban League, and was a board member for the Whitney M. Young Memorial Foundation.

The same year, the Caucus of Black Legislators of the State of New York gave Poston the Distinguished Service Award.

[5] Poston was inducted into the New York State Woman's Hall of Fame in 1980, also earning the governor's citation that year.