Dempsey Powell sitting in photographer George Barnes‘ one-armed chair.
Thank you to Levolyre Farmer Pitt for sharing a copy of this photograph.
Studio shots, no. 113: Dempsey Powell.
Powell
Studio shots, no. 111: the Powell children.
Julius, Sally, Julia, and Savannah Powell, circa 1918.
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In the 1910 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: on Saratoga Road, Howard Powell, 21; wife Geneva, 24; and children Savannah Lee, 19 months, and Sallie V., 1 month.
In the 1920 census of Wilson township, Wilson County: on Saratoga Road, Howard Powell, 31; wife Geneva, 33; and children Savannah L., 11, Sallie, 9, Julius and Julia, 6, Johnny H., 4, and Christine, 2.
Thank you to Levolyre Farmer Pitt for sharing a copy of this precious photograph.
Studio shots, no. 110: Bedie Powell Blackwell.
Bedie Powell Blackwell (1871-??)
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In the 1880 census of Taylor township, Wilson County, N.C.: farmer Ichabud Powell, 32; wife Mary A., 32; and children Beedy A., 9, Pheny, 7, John, 5, James W., 4, Henry G., 3, and Mary A.E., 11 months.
On 9 April 1892, Asberry Blackwell, 35, of Wilson township, married Beedey Powell, 25, of Wilson township, in Taylor township, Wilson County.
In the 1900 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Bedie Blackwell, 27, tobacco stemmer.
In the 1912 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Powell Bedie (c) lndrs h 311 Mercer
Asberry Blackwell died 21 September 1919 in Oldfields township, Wilson County. Per his death certificate, he was born 1857 in Wilson County; was a widower [actually, it appears he and Bedie were separated or divorced]; and worked as a farmhand for Grover Lamm.
In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Powell Bedie (c) lndrs 401 N Reid
In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Powell Bedie (c) lndrs 400 (401) N Reid
Copy of photo courtesy of Levolyre Farmer Pitt.
Studio shots, no. 109: Phenie Powell Howard.
Phenie Powell Fleming Kornegay Howard (1873-1970).
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In the 1880 census of Taylor township, Wilson County, N.C.: farmer Ichabud Powell, 32; wife Mary A., 32; and children Beedy A., 9, Pheny, 7, John, 5, James W., 4, Henry G., 3, and Mary A.E., 11 months.
In the 1910 census of Taylor township: on Finchs Road, farm laborer William Fleming, 35; wife Phanie, 24, farm laborer; daughter Geneva Howard, 4; and orphan Annie Holy, 13, farm laborer.
On 29 November 1921, Allison Howard, son of Deal and Rhoda Howard, married Phenie Kornegay, 40, daughter of Jacob [sic] and Mary Powell, in Wilson. William Powell and Mattie Lucas witnessed the ceremony.
In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Howard Allison (c; Feenie) lab h 401 N Reid
In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Howard Allison (c; Thenie) farm hd h 400 (401) N Reid
Moses Allerson Howard died 6 October 1937 in Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was 70 years old; was born in Wilson County to Deal Howard and Rhoda Eatmon; was married to Phenina Howard; worked as a farmer; and was buried in Wilson [likely, Vick Cemetery.]
Phenie Powell Howard died 13 January 1970 in Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 20 April 1890 to an unnamed father and Mary Lassiter; was a widow; and lived at 400 North Reid Street. Mahalie Harmon, Washington, D.C., was informant.
Photo courtesy of Levolyre Farmer Pitt.
The Knights of King Solomon building.
In 1929, when Julius Powell provided information for the death certificate of his father Howard Powell, undertaker C.E. Artis noted his address as “K. of K.S. Bldg.” — the Knights of King Solomon Building at 203 1/2 Stantonsburg [now 205 South Pender] Street.
Thanks for kindnesses shown.
Wilson Daily Times, 5 April 1944.
The deceased was Luvenia Pierce‘s daughter Sandora Powell.
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In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: Levenia Pierce, 36, divorced, hotel maid; daughter Sandora Pierce, 19, farm laborer; granddaughter Clara Pierce, 22 months; son-in-law Cesar Williams, 20, hotel bellboy; daughter Darthy L. Williams, 16; grandson Boyed L. Williams, 7 months; Estelle Butler, 30, cook; and John Kitchen, 30, barber.
On 8 September 1934, Moses Powell, 26, of Goldsboro, N.C., son of Eddie and Mollie Powell, married Sandora Moses, 23, of Goldsboro, daughter of Oliver and Lavinia Moses, in Nashville, Nash County, N.C.
Sandora Powell died 12 April 1944 at Mercy Hospital, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 29 December 1911 in Wilson to Oliver Moses and Louvenia Pierce; was single; lived at 317 Hackney Street; worked as a domestic; and was buried in Rountree Cemetery.
Cemeteries, no. 33: Williams-Lucas-Eatmon family cemetery.
Seven-tenths of a mile down a curving dirt path off the intersection of Hornes Church Road and Old Bailey Highway lies a small family cemetery, black with ash from an unfortunate controlled burn. (I get it. The cemetery is choked with wisteria, but fire damages fragile headstones and other grave markers.) I don’t know the cemetery’s name, and it’s a mile into Nash County, but many of its dead had close ties to Wilson County.
- Austin and Cornelia Locus Williams
Austin Williams Dec. 10, 1838 Oct. 27, 1907
Nelia Williams Sept. 24, 1842 Oct. 23, 1906 She now sweetly rests.
Austin Williams, son of Ben and Merica Williams, married Cornelia Taylor, daughter of Isaac Taylor and Lena Locus, on 10 May 1868 in Wilson County.
In the 1870 census of Taylors township, Wilson County: Austen Williams, 34, farm laborer; wife Cornelius, 24; and daughter Cora Lee, 1.
In the 1880 census of Taylors township, Wilson County: Austin Williams, 41, farmer; wife Nobly, 30; and children Cora L., 11, Charley A., 8, Benjamin and Isaac, 4, and Minnie, 8 months.
Per Tinner Howard Ellis, “Hillard [Ellis] married Cora Williams. Cora’s parents were Nellie Locust and Austin Williams. Austin was a slave on the McWilliams farm and Nellie was issue-free.”
- Ichabod Powell
Ecabud Powell Died Feb. 27 19[11?] Age 61 Years.
In the 1880 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: farmer Ichabud Powell, 32; wife Mary A., 32; and children Beedy A., 9, Pheny, 7, John, 5, James W., 4, Henry G., 3, and Mary A.E., 11 months.
In the 1900 census of Jackson township, Nash County: Ichabod Powell, 50, farmer; wife Mary A., 50; children Mary A., 20, Martha, 18, Joseph, 16, Margarett, 14, Geneva, 12, Billie P., 11, Dempsey H., 9, and Paul J., 6; and nephew Henry Lassiter, 28.
Henry Powell, left, and father Ichabod Powell, perhaps circa 1910.
Mary Ann Powell died 5 April 1921 in Jackson township, Nash County. Per her death certificate, she was 74 years old; was born in Wilson County to Silas Lassiter and Orpie Lassiter of Wilson County; was the widow of Ickibuck Powell; and was buried in Powell graveyard, Nash County.
Henry Powell died 29 September 1928 in Jackson township, Nash County. Per his death certificate, he was born November 1877 in Wilson County to Ichabod Powell of Nash County and Mary Lassiter of Wilson County; lived on Route 1, Wilson; was married to Sarah Powell; and worked in farming.
William “Bill” Pharaoh Powell died 23 July 1963 at his home at 404 North Reid Street, Wilson. Per his death certificate, he was born 15 February 1891 in Wilson County to Echabud Powell and Mary Ann Lassiter; was married to Margaret H[agans] Powell; and worked as a laborer.
- Neverson Locus
Neverson Lucas Mar. 2, 1853 May 9, 1927.
In the 1860 census of Oldfields township, Wilson County: Martin Locas, 45, farmer; wife Eliza, 30; and children Isham, 16, Edith, 10, Ervin, 8, Neverson, 6, Cedney, 5, and Susan Locus, 2, all mulatto. Martin claimed $250 in personal property.
In the 1870 census of Chesterfield township, Nash County, N.C.: farmer Martin Lucus, 52; wife Eliza, 42; and children Irvin, 19, Neverson, 16, Sidney, 13, Eliza, 7, Westray, 6, Anne, 4, and Mary, 2.
On 8 February 1877, Neverson Locust, 23, of Wilson County, married Margaret Taylor, 30, of Wilson County, in Wilson County.
In the 1880 census of Jackson township, Nash County: farmer Neverson Locus, 25; wife Margaret, 35; and son Boston, 1.
On 16 December 1885, Neverson Locust, 32, of Wilson County, married Sarah Locust, 37, of Wilson County, at A.M. Thompson’s in Wilson County.
In the 1910 census of Jackson township, Nash County: farm laborer Mary Jane Ellis, 44, and children Henry, 16, Louise, 13, and Charles, 6; and brother Neverson Lucas, 56.
In the 1920 census of Jackson township, Nash County: widower Neverson Locus, 65, farmer, and Liddie Joyner, 57, servant.
The last will and testament of Neverson Locus, alias Lucas.
Newson Lucas died 12 May 1927 in Jackson township, Nash County. Per his death certificate, he was born 29 April 1853 in Wilson County to Martin Lucas and Liza Martin; was a farmer; was a widower; and was buried in a family cemetery. Ed. Williams was informant.
- Robert and Edith Eatman
Robert Eatman Died Nov. 24, 1916 Age 52 Years
Edith Eatman Died Mar. 15, 1911 Age 63 Years
In the 1860 census of Oldfields township, Wilson County: Martin Locas, 45, farmer; wife Eliza, 30; and children Isham, 16, Edith, 10, Ervin, 8, Neverson, 6, Cedney, 5, and Susan Locus, 2, all mulatto. Martin claimed $250 in personal property.
On 28 April 1883, Robert Eatman, 25, of Wilson County, married Edith Howard, 30, of Wilson County, ate Wilson County Courthouse.
In the 1900 census of Taylors township, Wilson County: farmer Robert Eatmon, 43; wife Edith, 50; and servant Mary Eatmon, 9.
In the 1910 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: Willis Ellis, 22; wife Mary, 20; and aunt Edie Eatman, 52. Nearby, living alone: Robert Eatman, 52, farmer.
On 9 March 1911, Edith Eatmon made out a will in which she bequeathed $200 to Mary Jane Ellis; $100 each to Neverson Locus and James Ross; $50 to Eliza Howard, wife of George Howard; and the remainder to be divided among them all. She also paid for headstones for herself and her late husband.
The first provision of Edith Eatmon’s last will and testament.
- Mariah Perry
Mariah Wife of Jesse Perry Born Dec. 27, 1893 Died Sep. 14, 1920 She was ready to every good work.
On 26 December 1915, Jesse Perry, 21, son of Charlie and Assie Perry, married Maria Eatmon, 18, daughter of Dallas and Flora Eatmon, in Jackson township, Nash County.
In the 1920 census of Jackson township, Nash County: Jessie Perry, 22; wife Mariah, 19; and daughter Doretha, 1.
- Lucy Jane Morgan
Lucy Jane wife of Johnny Morgan
On 10 March 1922, John Morgan, 21, of Nash County, son of Jim and Senora Morgan, married Lucy Eatmon, 19, of Nash County, daughter of Dollis and Flora Eatmon, in Wilson.
Lucy Morgan died 23 October 1925 in Jackson township, Nash County. Per her death certificate, she was born 16 December 1903 in Nash County to D. Eatmon and Flora Lucas; was married to John Morgan; and was buried in [Bunn?] cemetery.
- Henry Lucas
Henry Lucas Born A.D. 1845 Died Dec. 30, 1915 Gone but not forgotten.
In the 1850 census of Nash County: Delany Locust, 28, and Lucy, 25, Nathan, 12, Henry, 8, Goodson, 6, Nelly, 4, and Mary J., 5.
On 29 March 1868, Henry Locust, son of Isaac and Laney Taylor, married Nancy Williams, daughter of Ben and America Williams at John Thompson’s in Wilson County.
In the 1870 census of Chesterfield township, Nash County: Henry Lucas, 35, farmer; wife Nancy, 32; and children Margaret, 11, Turner, 7, Susan, 2, and Horace, 5 months.
In the 1880 census of Jackson township, Nash County: Henry Locus, 38; wife Nancy, 37; and children Margaret, 23, Turner, 16, Harriet, 11, Franklin, 10, Adlonia, 8, Henry K., 5, Emma L., 4, Mollie, 2, and Palmer, 10 months.
In the 1900 census of Jackson township, Nash County: Henry Locus, 60; wife Nancy, 55; children Eliza H., 27, Adlone, 25, Henry C., 23, Mollie M., 20, Halma, 19, Ben, 15; and grandson Willie J., 11.
In the 1910 census of Jackson township, Nash County: Henry Lucas, 69; wife Nancy, 68; and sons Palmer, 28, and H. Katie, 30.
- Mary Pearson
Mary Pearson 1838-1925 Her life was hid with God’s.
In the 1880 census of Taylors township, Wilson County: Mary Pearson, 40, and children Jerry, 17, “hired out,” Mourning, 13, “hired about,” Dora, 8, and Flora, 6.
On 16 January 1895, Jerry Battle, 26, of Nash County, son of Armstead and Patsey Battle, married Mourning Pearson, 24, of Nash County, daughter of Nathan Locus and Mary Pearson, in Taylor township, Wilson County. John Locus applied for the license, and he, Joseph Eatmon, and Branch Flowers were witnesses.
In the 1900 census of Jackson township, Nash County: Dallas Eatmon, 32; wife Flora, 26; children Simean, 4, Mary C., 3, and Mariah, 1; and stepmother Mary Pearson, 63.
In the 1910 census of Jackson township, Nash County: farmer Dallas Eatmon, 49; wife Flora, 35; children Duncan, 14, Dolly, 12, Mariah, 11, Mira, 9, Lucy Jane, 7, Nola, 5, Myrtle, 3, Lessie, 2, and Cleora, 2 months; and mother-in-law Mary Pearson, 70.
Mary Pearson died 28 October 1925 in Jackson township, Nash County. Per her death certificate, she was 88 years old; was born in Nash County to James Flowers and Charity Flowers; was a widow; and worked in farming for Haywood Brantley. Flora Eatmon was informant.
Mourning Battle died 16 March 1934 in Taylors township, Wilson County. Per her death certificate, she was 63 years old; was born in Wilson County to Nathaniel Lucas and Mary Flowers; was the widow of Jerry Battle; and was buried in Sandy Fork cemetery. Flora Eatmon was informant.
Flora Eatman died 6 December 1949 in Bailey, Jackson township, Nash County. Per her death certificate, she was born 23 January 1876 in Wilson County to Nathan Lucas and Mary Pierson; was widowed; and was buried in Sandy Fork cemetery. Carse Eatmon was informant.
- Lottie High
Lottie High Jan. 6, 1868 May 9, 1918 She hath done what she could
On 7 July 1887, Arch High, 22, of Nash County, son of Peter and Mary High, married Lottie Dew, 19, of Wilson County, daughter of Vol Dew, at George Barnes’ in Wilson County.
In the 1900 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: farmer Archy High, 40; wife Lotter, 24; and children Peggie, 19, Nora, 11, Ardiclear, 11, Henry, 6, and Izell, 1.
On 25 July 1908, Manning Wiggins, 36, of Nash County, son of J. and E. Wiggins, married Lottie High, 36, of Nash County, daughter of Silvia Barnes, in Taylor township, Wilson County. Missionary Baptist minister William Rodgers performed the ceremony at his home.
In the 1910 census of Jackson township, Nash County: odd jobs laborer Lottie High, 38; son Henry, 16; and grandson Isaiah, 12.
Lottie Wiggins died 10 May 1918 in Jackson township, Nash County. Per her death certificate, she was born 6 January 1868 to Vara Dew; was divorced; and worked in farming.
Henry High died 29 December 1951 in Bailey, Jackson township, Nash County. Per his death certificate, he was born 15 February 1894 in Nash County to Arch High and Lottie Dew; was a World War I veteran; worked as a tenant farmer; and was buried in West [Rest] Haven cemetery, Wilson.
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Others buried in this cemetery include Tom Lucas (1872-1920), Cornelia Williams (1900-1918), Isadora Lucas (18[illegible]-1917), Anis Lucas (1860-1927), and Nannie Williams Lucas (1879-1908).
Photo of the Powells courtesy of Ancestry.com user bpatterson80; cemetery photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, March 2023.
The obituary of Louisiana Eatmon Hammond.
Wilson Daily Times, 22 December 1948.
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In the 1920 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: William Eatmon, 35, farmer; wife Geneva, 33; and daughter Louisiana, 11.
In the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Eatmon Louisiana (c) dom h 317 Finch
In the 1930 census of Taylor township, Wilson County: William Eatmon, 50, city laborer; wife Geneva, 41; and daughter Louisiana, 20.
In the 1930 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Eatmon Louisiana (c) h 317 Finch
On 23 February 1938, William Hammond, 24, of Wilson, married Lousanna Eatman, 28, of Wilson, in Wilson, in the presence of Luther Hammond Sr., Luther Hammond Jr., and Lula Hammond.
In 1940, William Elwood Hammond registered for the World War II draft in Wilson County. Per his registration card, he was born 16 November 1914 in Lumberton, N.C.; lived at 317 Finch; worked for Mrs. C.C. Benton; and his contact was wife Louisiana Hammond.
Louisiana Eatmon Hammond drafted a will on 15 February 1947. Under its terms, all her property, except one tenant house, was to go to her surviving children. The tenant house, which was “on the Nash Street Road East … beside of the Colored Brick Church, East of the town of Wilson,” was to go to her late father’s children, i.e. her siblings. [What was the “Colored Brick Church”?]
Will Book 9, page 8-9.
Louisiana Hammond died 16 December 1948 at her home at 317 Finch Street, Wilson. Per her death certificate, she was born 5 October 1917 in Nash County, North Carolina, to Willie Eatmon and Geneva Powell; was divorced; and worked as a day laborer. Mary Goram was informant.
Rest in peace, Vanilla P. Beane.
Black Wide-Awake mourns the passing of Vanilla Powell Beane, Wilson native, Washington, D.C., legend, and milliner extraordinaire. Her 103 years of life were exceptionally well-lived, and the world so much richer for her talents.
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Vanilla Beane, the District’s ‘Hat Lady,’ dies at 103.
By Michael Rosenwald, The Washington Times, 25 October 2022.
Mrs. Beane’s hats, which she had designed and fabricated at the Bené Millinery and Bridal Supplies shop on Third Street NW, were featured on postage stamps and in collections at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Every hat was one-of-a-kind.
“Nobody wants to walk into a church and see someone else wearing their hat,” she once said.
Poet Maya Angelou wore one of Mrs. Beane’s millinery creations. Civil rights activist Dorothy I. Height donned them for meetings with presidents and other officials. “Hats give me a lift and make me feel real special,” Height explained — a sentiment shared by the countless others who shopped at Mrs. Beane’s store.
Mrs. Beane worked six days a week into her 100th year.
“Some people like real fussy hats,” she told The Washington Post in 2009. “Others like sophisticated hats, and a lot of people like simple hats. I try to please people regardless of their race or background.”
Mrs. Beane made her hats the old-fashioned way, wetting buckram — a stiff cotton — into molds decorated with all manner of fabrics. Keeping her fingernails cut short, Mr. Beane made tams, turbans, panamas, sailors and cloches. Decades of the repetitive fashioning turned her fingers stiff and rough.
“They look like I have been digging potatoes,” she said.
Vanilla Powell was born in Wilson, N.C., on Sept. 13, 1919, the second youngest of nine siblings. Her father was a carpenter and farmer, and her mother was a seamstress who also worked in White people’s homes washing their clothes.
Growing up during the Depression instilled a robust work ethic in the Powell children, who worked in the fields picking tobacco and cotton. On Sundays, they rested and walked to Sandy Point Baptist Church, where women sat in the pews wearing fancy hats.
“In the past, when most Blacks had blue-collar jobs, dressing up on Sundays was a cherished ritual,” Craig Marberry, co-author of “Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats,” said in a 2019 story about Mrs. Beane in The Post. “The hat tradition grew out of the idea that you were expressing how God has blessed you. The more flamboyant a hat, the more God has blessed you.”
After graduating from [C.H. Darden] high school in 1940, Vanilla Powell moved to Washington and two years later married Willie Beane Sr., producing the name that endlessly charmed her customers and friends, though it took her a little bit to realize its novelty.
“I was in the drugstore and the pharmacy said, ‘Do you know there is a Vanilla Beane?’” she recalled in a television interview in 2020. “I said I guess it was meant to be.”
In Washington, Mrs. Beane worked as an elevator operator in a downtown building with a hat store called Washington Millinery Supply. She was enamored by the intricate hats and the craft of making them, so she bought some supplies and began making them herself.
Eventually she showed her hats to the store’s owner, Richard Dietrick Sr. “She had very much talent, but she didn’t have the design know-how in those days,” Dietrick recalled later. “She picked it up very quickly.”
Mrs. Beane eventually began working for him, and when he moved his shop to Gaithersburg, Md., she bought his supplies and, in 1979, opened her own store. She was a shrewd businesswoman, convincing Ethel Sanders, the owner of Lovely Lady Boutique in Bethesda, Md., to move her store near Bené Millinery.
“People knew us as a team,” Sanders recalled in 2019. “Women would come in for a dress and I’d send them to Vanilla for a hat. Or they’d go for a hat and she’d send them to me for an outfit.”
Mrs. Beane’s shop had White customers, as well. One of them was Sherry Watkins, who founded the Rogue Hatters, a group of women who collected Mrs. Beane’s hats. Watkins owned 75.
Mrs. Beane taught them the rules of hat wearing.
“Don’t match the hat to the outfit,” Watkins recalled. “Just buy a hat you like and the outfit will come. Never wear your hat more than one inch above your eyebrows. Slant it to look more interesting and possibly even risque.”
Mrs. Beane seemed to never get designer’s block. Her designs constantly evolved.
At the National Museum of African American History and Culture, one of Mrs. Beane’s hats is green velveteen.
“The hat is circular with a rounded peak and constructed by layering a strip of fabric over itself in a wrapped design,” the museum’s description says. “The base of the fabric is a light green while the pile is a darker green, giving the hat a two-tone appearance.”
Another is a red felt bicorn style.
“The hat is composed of a single piece of stiff felt that has been folded up at the center front,” the museum notes. “The dome of the hat is cylindrical, with the raised brim attached at the top of the crown. There are red felt bows affixed at the attachment points.”
Mrs. Beane’s husband died in 1993. Their son, Willie G. Beane Jr., died in 1980. Ms. Beane is survived by two daughters, Margaret L. Seymour of Charleston, S.C., and Linda R. Jefferson of the District; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
Mrs. Beane was such a fixture of Washington that then-Fox News host Chris Wallace named her “Power Player of the Week” in the summer of 2020.
Wallace asked her what made a proper church hat.
“Well,” she answered, “any hat that’s not too fancy, not too wide.”
The host marveled at her longevity.
“In these challenging times,” Wallace said, “it’s nice to know there are still some constants in the world, like Vanilla Beane.”
Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post.
Wilson County’s own Vanilla Powell Beane honored as she turns 103!
Nothing I could write could improve upon Jeni Hansen’s remarks about her remarkable grandmother, so I take the liberty to share them here:
“This past week, on the evening of her 103rd birthday, Vanilla Powell Beane received the 2022 Mayor’s Arts Award for Distinguished Honor. Thank you, Mayor [Muriel] Bowser, and thank you DC for showing up to honor the oldest small business owner in Washington!
“I’ve said this before but it stands true today — one of the things I remain most inspired by, is my grandmother’s desire to do something without being recognized.
The other day we were talking about becoming who you are — the dedication, determination, triumphs, and challenges. I am not surprised she did the damn thing without analytics, likes, and without a platform – her passion wasn’t built around the approval of others but a genuine love for her craft. She was inducted into the National Association of Fashion & Accessories Designers in 1975, has more than one day named after her in Washington, and hats are featured on a U.S. Postal Service stamp and in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
“If it takes you 103 years to be recognized for your talents, work hard and enjoy every day. When you make it where you’re going, overcome the obstacles you and others put in your way, and become who you are destined to be — I hope you’ll look in the mirror and say exactly what my grandma said to me, ‘Well, I’m here aren’t I?’
“The life you lead, truly, is the legacy you leave.”
Photo by Salah Djimbananou and text courtesy of Jeni Hansen, via Sandy Alston, Mrs. Beane’s great-niece.