)Partial Group Photo: Antonio Ruiz, Palacio Magazine 2015 - Former Long Beach Mayor with five Legends) L-R: Wilma Powell, Bobbie Smith, Mayor Beverly O’Neill, Vera Mulkey, Dale Clinton, Alta Cooke
Eleven African American women, whose lives are chronicled in the upcoming book, BREAKING THROUGH Lighting the Way, were born between 1918 and 1963 in Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Michigan and North Carolina, before moving westward to make a difference in the history and the future of Long Beach, California.
Only one was born in Long Beach, but both her parents were born in Florida. Photographic reproductions in this book come from an exhibition produced by internationally acclaimed photographer, journalist and award-winning author, Sunny Nash, editorial project manager.
Nash selected images from the exhibition to create a pictorial history catalogue depicting childhood, education, family life and careers of the amazing women, who earned the title Living Legends of Long Beach. As this edition of the catalogue is being published, half are gone, but their deeds and memories of the will live on.
This book reveals a legacy of triumph that will not fade any time soon as young audiences meet these amazing women and learn their stories of poverty, struggle for education, racism, and dignity, throughout the Jim Crow Era in the United States when every aspect of life in the Deep South and beyound, where most of them were born, was divided by the color line. But there are no victims in this book. Obstacles deterred none in becoming firsts in their fields. The book will delight imaginations with its clean, simple design and display of enhanced antique photographs using digital technology to refresh old memories and enlighten young audiences.
Breaking Through Lighting the Way serves as a survival guide for those who envision change., those who are in need of inspiration, those who have lost their way, those whose way has been stolen, and those who are determined to find a way.
