Everyone knows Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King, Jr., but there are many other African Americans who have contributed to the rich fabric of our country but whose names have fallen through the cracks of history.
We’ve asked some of our authors who chose to write biographies of these talented leaders why we should remember them. We’ll feature their answers throughout Black History Month.
Today, Alan Schroeder shares why he wrote about Florence Mills in Baby Flo: Florence Mills Lights Up the Stage:
While researching African-American life, I have come across the name Florence Mills time and again. She was a famous singer and dancer in the 1920s, but not much is known about her today. She is a “forgotten” celebrity. Then, a few years ago, a man named Bill Egan wrote a marvelous biography of Mills, which I happened to read. Thanks to Mr. Egan, Mills’s incredible career sprang to life, and I knew I wanted to write about her — to share her story with young readers.
Unlike Booker T. Washington or Frederick Douglass or Martin Luther King, Jr., Florence Mills is not an important figure in American or African-American life. Children do not need to know about her in the way that they should know about Douglass or King, or Cesar Chavez, or Harvey Milk. Nevertheless, her story was interesting, and her hard work and many accomplishments can, I think, serve as an inspiration to young readers. In an amazingly short time, Florence Mills rose to the very top of her profession, and I had a wonderful time researching and writing about her.
Further reading:
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Holidays Tagged:
African American history,
African American interest,
african american women,
baby flo,
black history month,
dancing,
dreams &,
florence mills,
inspiration,
performing
Everyone knows Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King, Jr., but there are many other African Americans who have contributed to the rich fabric of our country but whose names have fallen through the cracks of history.
We’ve asked some of our authors who chose to write biographies of these talented leaders why we should remember them. We’ll feature their answers throughout Black History Month.
Today, Crystal Hubbard shares why she wrote about Toni Stone (a.k.a. Marcenia Lyle) in Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl’s Baseball Dream:
“I wrote about Marcenia Lyle, the first woman to have become a full-time roster member of an all-male professional baseball team, because she is an example of what it truly means to make a dream come true.
“Marcenia Lyle loved baseball, and she played as a child. She wanted to do what so many boys could grow up to do, which was to play ball professionally.
“In the early 1930s, career options were limited for African-American women. Most typically became teachers, nurses, maids and housewives. But Marcenia held on to her dream of playing baseball. Even when it was hard to get people to believe in her, she worked harder to prove that she could be a good baseball player. She made her dream come true, and her drive and determination inspired me to follow my heart, to work hard, and to bring my dreams to life.”
Further reading:
Black History Month: Why Remember Robert Smalls?
Filed under:
Holidays Tagged:
african american women,
African/African American Interest,
baseball,
black history month,
discrimination,
dreams and aspirations,
gender roles,
hard work,
Sports,
toni stone
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