LOUISVILLE, Ky. – In 1966 Louisville resident Elmer Lucille Allen was the fourth woman to work in the lab at Brown-Forman. She was also the first African-American chemist.

Carol Haendiges considered the 88-year-old a mentor when Allen worked as an Analytical Chemist when Haendiges first started in the lab.

“Even in the early ’90s, women in STEM careers were still kind of an anomaly. So to have someone of Lucille’s caliber to work with was really beneficial to all of us young women starting out,” said Haendiges who is now a senior chemist.

The lab has changed a lot since Allen was hired as in 1966.

“Everything was done by paper when I first came here,” Allen told Spectrum News 1.

When Allen graduated from what’s now Spalding University in 1953, she said she couldn’t find a job as a chemist because no one was hiring African-American women, and she said they were hardly hiring women at all in science. So her first job was as a clerk-typist in Indianapolis, Indiana. Through a personal connection, she eventually was hired as a junior chemist at Brown-Forman when she was 35 years old.

“Well you know sometimes you don’t realize what you’re getting into when you take a job, but I told them I was hired to do a job, as they were, and so after that, we just worked together,” Allen remarked when asked what it was like to be the first African-American chemist in the lab.

When Allen first started, she said women couldn’t wear pants.

“And then when they did wear pants, it had to be a pantsuit, and from there it’s just gone downhill,” Allen joked.

Over her career that spanned almost 31 years, Allen saw the introduction of new products to computers.

“And things have to change in order for a company to grow, it has to change,” Allen said

A walk around the lab today and one finds many female chemists around the lab.

“That’s the way it should be, women are taking over,” Allen remarked.

Even though Allen retired as an analytical chemist in 1997, her presence in the lab is still felt today.

“I understand that I would not be in this position if Ms. Lucille was not in this position first, and that’s something I respect and appreciate, her being able to come before me to allow me to be here,” said Analytical Chemist Lola White.

A comment that brought tears of joy to Allen.

“I’m just happy, to know that I made a difference, and that’s important in life, that you make a difference for others. It’s not for you, but it’s for the people that come behind you,” Allen said while whipping away tears.

In October 2019, a mural in Louisville was completed that highlights Allen's life as part of the Imagine 2020 Mural Festival. All murals featured untold stories in Louisville’s Smoketown historic neighborhood.