Bernice Alexander

From Chicago’s South Side to the Michigan State Capitol, she rose from drugstore clerk to civil rights trailblazer—shattering racial barriers, raising twelve children, and becoming the first Equal Employment Opportunity Officer in the state. A true matriarch of justice and resilience.

Nancy Watkins

Wiley J Strickland

Wiley built a life of honest work and deep family roots, guiding his large family from Georgia far into Michigan’s industrial heart.

Sam Alexander

William A Goolsby

Cecelia Suggs

A Mississippi farm girl turned Chicago matriarch, Cecelia weathered Jim Crow, the Great Depression, and motherhood of 13—becoming a three-home property owner, community anchor, and beloved 'mangle girl' who never missed a Cubs game.

Flora Thara Cannon

Anne Sorrow