[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 25 (Tuesday, February 8, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S570-S571]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                     REMEMBERING DR. LESTER CARTER

  Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I rise today to honor Dr. Lester Carter, 
who passed away on January 31, 2022, at the age of 90. Dr. Carter was a 
pharmacist who founded one of Milwaukee's first Black-owned pharmacies 
and worked there for over five decades.
  Dr. Carter enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served in the Korean war. He 
was sent to the Hospital Corpsman School in Portsmouth, VA, for 
training in healthcare and was later assigned to the USS Tortuga for 2 
and a half years. After being discharged in 1954, he attended pharmacy 
school at Creighton University in Omaha, NE, and became the school's 
first African-American graduate in 1958. Dr. Carter worked at a 
``Whites only'' pharmacy in Omaha for 6 years, only being allowed to 
work in the backroom out of public view.
  After filling in at a pharmacy in Milwaukee, WI, Dr. Carter was 
offered a position at the store and moved to the city. He then began 
looking for his own store and found out about a pharmacy located on 
North 24th and West Burleigh where the owners wanted to retire. Dr. 
Carter purchased the pharmacy and set up shop in what at the time was a 
majority White and German neighborhood. Dr. Carter learned German 
phrases and quickly earned a great deal of respect and trust from his 
customers.

[[Page S571]]

  During his career on Burleigh Street, Dr. Carter always welcomed 
everyone with a smile. He touched thousands of lives in positive ways, 
making time to talk and get to know his customers well. Dr. Carter saw 
many children grow up and become adults during his career, and some 
went on to become pharmacists due to his influence.
  Dr. Carter never retired after his pharmacy merged with Hayat, 
working part-time as the pharmacy's herbal specialist. Recognizing 
people's concern for medication side effects he developed 12 herbal 
formulas to resolve health issues his customers were having. He always 
listened to customer concerns and invested himself into the care of the 
community.
  Dr. Carter served as an example for Milwaukee on how to break down 
barriers. He treated everyone with dignity and respect. A common 
consensus was that once you left his store, you were already feeling 
better just by being in his presence. In 2018, North 24th Street was 
named in his honor. While Dr. Carter will be missed, he will be 
remembered by the generations of families he helped take care of and by 
the community he helped shape.

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