The Blanchard House sits as a memory of Punta Gorda's pioneers. Despite major damage from Hurricane Ian, leaders are spreading the importance of their history.
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In my life, I have found myself as a colored, a negro, a Black, an African American, and a person of color. This story is my reflection as a colored girl. My mother, Bernice Andrews Russell is memorialized on a mural in Punta Gorda. She was my example of the colored woman that a colored girl like me must aspire to be.
"In my life, I have found myself as a colored, a negro, a Black, an African American, and a person of color. This is my reflection as a colored girl." Dr. Bireda shares her story of being born at a time when life for "colored" people was not of royalty but of restriction. Even being nicknamed the "May Queen" by a cousin couldn't prevent her experiencing the barriers presented by Jim Crow laws.