"Mary Martin: Black Government-Girl from Hillsboro"

Mary Martin is a true story following the journey of an African American girl born in a small town in Illinois who aspires to a better life. While working as a nanny to a state senator, she learns of the bombing of Pearl Harbor on the radio. After passing the civil service exam, she embarks on the segregated train ride to Washington, DC. She then joins 100,000 African Americans who travel to the nation‘s wartime capital in the 1940‘s to pursue their dreams. Despite the Jim Crow and segregation she encountered there, she succeeds in achieving her goals.

Mary Martin recounts the early life of author Beverly Harris-Schenz’s mother. Beverly spent 38 years as a university professor and administrator, and in retirement she has pursued writing creative non-fiction. Three of her stories have appeared in the journal “Voices from the Attic“ published by Carlow University, and another collection of stories, Living While Black: My Experience with Everyday Racism was published in 2023.