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Who Was Mary Ellen Pleasant? The First Black Female Millionaire Who Funded Abolition and Fought Segregation
Mary Ellen Pleasant built a fortune during the California Gold Rush — but she didn’t stop at wealth. She aligned her money with abolition, supported Underground Railroad efforts, and challenged segregation in court in 1866. Long before the Civil Rights Movement, she understood that power could be engineered. Her story reshapes what we think we know about wealth, resistance, and who history chooses to remember.
6 days ago4 min read
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