It wasn’t long after the Pantages Theatre opened in Minneapolis in 1916 that a Black woman entered its doors and started fighting an immediate battle to desegregate the theatre. Just months after the opening, law school freshman Lena O. Smith and four Black men attended a performance and attempted to sit on the main floor instead of the balcony. After being stopped, each filed a discrimination suit against the theatre. Smith lost her suit, but a string of suits that followed ended the Pantages’ segregation policy. In 1921, Smith became the first African American woman licensed to practice law in Minnesota. She went on to win many discrimination lawsuits. She also served as the first female president of the local NAACP chapter and helped establish a Minnesota chapter for the National Urban League. Smith was tireless in her civil rights advocacy. Hennepin Theatre Trust, the current nonprofit owner of the Pantages, is grateful for Smith and her work to create a better future for us all.