Foremothers | Day 16 | Stagecoach Mary

If John Henry has a folk song this woman needs one too!

Introducing Stagecoach Mary a.k.a. Mary Fields a.k.a. Black Mary.

At 60-years old she was the fastest person - man or woman - in the state of Montana to hitch a team of six horses to a coach.  She was the first Black woman to earn a US Postal Service contract.  She drove that team of horses for eight years, through rough and wild territories of the West.  In the winter, the snow was so deep that she’d leave the horses behind and carry-on with the mail on her back. She never missed a day. Not a single day.  She carried a shotgun to demand respect.  She once got kicked out of a Catholic convent for using it.  When the law banned women from drinking in saloons, she got an exception from the mayor. 

“I fight through rainstorms...snowstorms ...risk hurricanes and tornadoes. I like to be rough. I like to be rowdy. I also like to be loving ...caring."  We are the daughters of hard and soft. ...that edge hitting a soft breeze.  We are electric.  The storm of posibility.  Like the clap of Juneteenth in the middle of global meltdown.  Like the swirl and swagger of Mary Fields.

"I do bold and exciting things." she confessed.

Cheers foremother.  Cheers!

(She needs her own folk song.)


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Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the music or speech excerpt played during this broadcast. Original content can be found here:

More Bounce To The Ounce - Zapp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ijvN7ADt4

Our Vision Is Our Voice - Sonia Sanchez: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckFKVT2fzJk&feature=youtu.be