Seam-ing-ly Perfect Alterations and Designs

02/20/2025

Today let’s look at Black History in sports! Please indulge me as I take a personal liberty and share a note about a member of OUR family 😉

My 2nd cousin, Willye Brown White was an Olympic Track and Field athlete and the first person to participate in 5 consecutive Olympics 1956 to 1972. A knee injury prevented her from making the 1976 team which would have given her the distinction to have participated in 6 consecutive Olympics.

She was America's best female long jumper, with a career best of 21 feet 6 inches. She won 9 consecutive U.S. outdoor championships, set 7 American records and by her count competed in 150 nations (Note: there are 195 total nations in the world).

She was born December 31, 1939 in Money, Mississippi. As aa young girl growing up in Mississippi, she picked cotton to help her family earn money while training and competing in sports events.

She was a 16-year-old Sophomore in high school when she won a silver metal in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne Australia. It was the first time an American woman ever won a medal in that event. She won her second silver metal in 1964 as a member of the 400 meter relay team, along with Wyoming Tyus, Marilyn White, and Edith McGuire.

During her career, she won 13 national indoor and outdoor titles and set seven US records in the long jump.

Her last record of 6.55 meters stood from 1964 until 1972. She was a member of more than 30 international track and field teams and one dozen amateur athletic union long jump titles in her career.

She was inducted into the US track and field Hall of Fame in 1981. She holds the honor of being inducted into 11 sports Hall of Fames.

She died February 6, 2007 of pancreatic cancer.”

02/13/2025

Feb 13

Who is Dorothy Lee Bolden?

Dorothy Lee Bolden (October 13, 1924 - July 14, 2005) was the founder of the National Domestic Worker's Union and worked to fight for women's rights and bringing segregation to an end.

She began working as a domestic at the age of 9 and she would eventually utilize her past experiences to form the Domestic Worker's Union in Atlanta, GA.

Her mother , Georgia Mae Patterson Bolden was a housekeeper and her father, Raymond Bolden was a chauffeur.

She experienced optic nerve damage at the age of 3 as the result of a fall and didn't regain her sight until the age of 9. Because of her poor vision her education was hindered.

She attended grade school but her high school education stopped at 9th grade because of her poor sight and the need to financially support herself.

She travelled to Chicago to go to school for dress designer but her poor sight made that too difficult.

She worked at Sears and the National Linen Service, where she recognized the early efforts for unionization and labor rights.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was an early influence in her life as he was her neighbor at the time of the Civil Rights Movement.

Bolden became an activist well before the re-emergence of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. In the late 1940's, she refused a request from her boss, a white woman, to stay late and wash the dishes. Her boss alerted the local police, who responded by taking her to the county jail for a psychiatric evaluation.

According to Bolden in an oral history interview conducted in 1995 of the incident- "They told me I was crazy because I had talked back to a white and called in some psychiatrists to prove it. A white woman's word was gospel and two psychiatrists actually thought I was crazy..... This was the way you got locked up....This was the system."

With the help of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Bolden built relationships with families all over Atlanta and the women opened up to her about their experiences as domestic workers.

During the 1960's Domestic Workers endured 13 hour workdays
and received as little as $3.50. In 1968 Bolden started discussions with other unions about beginning to organize a national union for domestic workers.

The union helped improve the wages and working conditions of domestic workers on Atlanta and served as an example for other domestic workers across the country. She became and icon in Atlanta.

Under her leadership, the National Domestic Worker's Union fundamentally influenced the treatment of domestic workers, increased Atlanta wages by 33% over 2 years and won worker's compensation and social security rights for all domestic workers.

She was responsible for registering thousands of African Americans to vote and was eventually appointed to an advisory committee on social services and welfare on Richard Nixon's administration.

I think this is pretty AMAZING for a 9th grade education and poor eyesight 😉🤩

02/07/2025

Fashion on A Budget

02/04/2025

Let’s explore the contributions of A. Philip Randolph to the Black Labor Movement.

He attended Cookman Institute (known today as Bethune Cookman College) After graduation, he became involved in the movement for Black Economic and social freedom in Harlem, New York

He was instrumental in the organizing of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. The first predominantly Black labor union in nation was finally recognized in 1937.

Throughout the next 40 years, he continued to be a pioneer for the connected causes of racial and economic justice.

He helped to lead the fight to end discrimination in the defense industry and military, paving the way for Executive Order 8802, the Fair Employment Practices Commission and the desegregation of the armed services.

In the 1950s, he served as one of the first two Black Vice Presidents of the new AFL-CIO abs founded the Negro American Labor Council (NALC).

Randolph was also one of the major organizers of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom I 1963, bringing together nearly 250,000 people to demand freedom and better lives through greater civil rights.

02/03/2025

Welcome to Black History Month 2025. Over the next 27 days it will be my pleasure and honor to share moments in Black History.

Let's start with the origin of Black History Month.

In the Summer of 1915 - Carter G Woodson and some colleagues traveled to Washington DC to participate in the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the emancipation sponsored by Illinois. The exhibit highlighted the progress of black people since the destruction of slavery.

Moved by the overwhelming interest of the DC exhibits, Carter G Woodson and 4 other formed the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH) to promote the scientific study of black life and history.

In 1916 he and others created The Journal of Negro History to publish and popularize the findings of his and other black intellectuals.

As early as 1920, Carter G Woodson (member of Omega Psi Phi and Harvard PhD) encouraged other Civic organizations to promote the research findings in The Journal of Negro History. In 1924 they launched The Negro History and Literature Week, which they later renamed it to Negro Achievement Week.

The outreach was significant but Woodson desired a greater impact. So in 1925, he decided the association would shoulder the responsibility to promote the achievements in black history.

Woodson chose the month of February to recognize and celebrate the achievements on black history for tradition and reform, as it encompasses the birthdays of 2 great Americans who played prominent roles in shape Black History, Abraham Lincoln (Feb 12) and Fredrick Douglas (Feb 14).

Woodson believed history is made by people and not great men. He envisioned the study of the Negro as a raise and not the producer of a great man.

For example, Lincoln (however great) had not freed the slaves but rather, the Union Army which included hundreds of thousands of Black soldiers and sailors had done that.

So rather than focus on 2 men, he believed the Black community should focus on the countless black men and women who had contributed to the advancement of human civilization.

The 1960s had a dramatic effect on the study and celebration of Black History. Before the decade was over, Black History Week was well on its way to becoming Black History Month.

In 1976, almost 50 years after the first celebration, the ASNLH used its influence to institutionalize the shift from one week to one month and from
Negro history to black history.

This year's theme is "African Americans and Labor" which is to encourage broad reflections on intersections between Black people's work and their workplaces in all their iterations and key moments, themes, and events In Black history and culture across time and space and throughout the U.S., Africa and the Disapora."

Have an amazing day and enjoy the experience ❤️

01/06/2025

From Stitches To Style. I can't tell you how much fun and laughter we all had together. I had the privilege to teach a group of 9 adupt individuals with little to no sewing experience and look what they accomplished. This group right here, certainly gained skills and went beyond the sewing expectations of a beginner class. They learned to sew and create a complete outfit (the one that they are wearing) in only 8 weeks. I'm so proud of this group. Each styled the assigned pattern to suit their own personal taste by modifying the neckline, the hemline, and even the sleeves. Not pictured is Shadia Wilcox who also excelled in the class.. Can't wait to see what the class of 2025 will create! Stay tuned to see what the kids put together. They Sew Too! Happy New year! For info on the next class, call Seam-ing-ly Perfect Alterations and Designs or ArtPlace Mississippi

12/09/2024

12/09/2024

01/02/2023

Location: Seam-ing-ly Seam-ing-ly Perfect Alterations and Designs West Park Ave., Ste. L, Greenwood, Mississippi 38930

It's Christmas Bridal Planning Time! If you are among the many who became engaged during the Christmas Holiday Season, Seam-ing-ly Perfect Alterations and Designs would like to Congratulate you on this eventful occasion!

We also want you to know that we are here for you
when it comes to achieving the "Perfect Fit" for you and your total wedding party. Happy planning and don't forget to budget alterations along with the cost of your gown! Opened Tuesday - Friday 9am to 5pm. Saturday by appointments but walk-ins are still welcome. Located at 522 West Park Ave., Ste. L, Greenwood, Mississippi 38930

01/02/2023

It's Christmas Bridal Planning Time! If you are among the many who became engaged during the Christmas Holiday Season, Seam-ing-ly Perfect Alterations and Designs would like to Congratulate you on this eventful occasion!

We also want you to know that we are here for you
when it comes to achieving the "Perfect Fit" for you and your total wedding party. Happy planning and don't forget to budget alterations along with the cost of your gown! Opened Tuesday - Friday 9am to 5pm. Saturday by appointments but walk-ins are still welcome. Located at 522 West Park Ave., Ste. L, Greenwood, Mississippi 38930