her three children and said, “If I ever lose my mind and go back to
Mississippi to live, don’t you all come. Not even to visit me.”
Within a year, Selena opened the first of many “Selena’s House of
Beauty” in the Mansfield Hotel in Chicago on 64th and Cottage
Grove. The next year, she also became the owner of the first salon
opened after attending Madame C.J. Walker’s Beauty School which
was in the Pershing Hotel at the opposite end of the same block, where
the Mansfield salon was located. Ms. Walker was another source of
inspiration as she was a pioneer in beauty techniques and products
created especially for women of color.
Till further ignited the civil rights movement which led to sweeping
changes and reforms across the United States and brought greater
international visibility to the experiences of Negroes in America. This
too, was an added sign for Selena that she was on the right track to
create a different kind of history—and that she did.
Of course, Selena returned to Mississippi many times for visits and
was always proud to be a country girl from that southern state, but she
learned a valuable lesson on balancing dreams with family, making
history, and with staying safe.
Lessons are to be experienced and taken forward into all aspects of
life. Sometimes a lesson is like a long lonely dark tunnel that seems
hopeless, but for those who keep moving forward, hoping for some
form of light, the end results can be overwhelming success. When that
glimmer of light appears, it refuels that desire to achieve things that
others did not think possible.
Selena Greene Parker Williams is a prime example of that kind of
faith, desire, and success. Her Story is told by her granddaughter,
Bonnie Taylor Williams, in the award-winning memoir: With These
Hands: A Country Girl Came to Town.
Bonnie Taylor-Williams grew up loving to read thanks to a
mother who instilled the love for reading, which inspired her
desire for becoming a writer. Bonnie comes from a family of
women entrepreneurs. From a roadhouse, to the house of
beauty, to certified CPS student transportation; those family
businesses have provided many stories for her to share.
Thus, she became the author of the Black Excellence award-
winning nonfiction book “With These Hands; A Country Girl
Came to town”! Other than the love fory family, Bonnie loves
listening to stories, telling stories and music.
Visit her on the web:
www.bonnietaylorwilliams.com
NKLC MAGAZINE | 13